


Splinter Fate

by RM_Avalon



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Badass Kagome, Drama, F/M, Original Character(s), Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-10
Updated: 2015-03-12
Packaged: 2018-03-17 05:34:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 54,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3517325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RM_Avalon/pseuds/RM_Avalon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five years later the well re-opens, but neither the world that it leads to, nor the people who inhabit it are the same as the one that Kagome left behind. She joins forces with a grown up Rin, a teenage Shippou, and Sesshomaru who she still can't figure out, to search for the miko Hoshiko, who may be able to help them defeat an enemy who is stronger and more frightening than anything they've ever faced before. Time is coming apart at the seams and Kagome is running out of options...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally posted on fanfiction.net and Dokuga. As I am reposting it I am editing, so this version has had some things tweaked, altered, and generally improved. If you read it before, some things may be slightly different.
> 
> It starts off slightly AU and then just goes full on AU because why not. The well never reopened after the final battle and Kagome has been living a normal life ever since then.

"The time is out of joint: O cursed spite that ever I was born to set it right!" - _Hamlet,_ Shakespeare

~

All those times, traveling back and forth through the well, Kagome never even thought to wonder how the magic that made it work had ever come to be. She never had any idea that there was something dwelling within the well, something far older and more evil than she could have dreamt.

Unbeknownst to her was the fact that the Bone Eater's Well was not a straight tunnel between the past and the present, but that it was actually the opening to a larger maze of tunnels between many different times, and more importantly, that the being who slept in the darkness there had made its nest within this maze.

And gradually, that the being, who had been content to sleep away the eons, had finally been woken by the sounds of Kagome and Inuyasha traipsing back and forth through time.

~

"Bye Mama! I'm off to work!" Kagome raced out of the kitchen, a piece of buttered toast in one hand, her raincoat in the other, and her purse slung over he shoulder. She shoved the toast into her mouth and held it with her teeth as she hopped up and down on one foot, then the other, struggling to get her shoes on.

"Ow, ow, _owwwww_." She mumbled around the bread as she banged her elbow into the low table in the front hall.

She was running way behind for the third time that week, and if she was late again, her boss was going to _kill_ her. It wasn't he fault that she was having a hard time making it into work on time lately; she had been having the most awful week in the history of people having awful weeks.

First, the engine of her car- an ancient, white Honda, which had belonged to her mother for fifteen years before she passed it on to Kagome- had… well, _blown up_ was really the only way to describe it. Strangely enough, the car had been off at the time and the mechanics that had examined it had found nothing else wrong with the car and no traces of any sort of explosives.

The next day there had been a devastating crash on the subway line that Kagome was supposed to take to work instead, and she had been forced to take a cab. As if that were not enough, the cab had gotten a flat tire in the middle of Tokyo rush hour. She had gotten into work slightly after the time that she normally took her lunch break and her boss had not even bothered to call her into his office before chewing her out. Humiliated, frustrated, and struggling to keep a lid on her temper, Kagome had been forced to stand them and take the tirade of criticism. It was that or lose her job– a job, which her mother liked to remind her, she had been very fortunate to get after her poor showing in High School and with her utter lack of a college diploma.

Resolved to never be late again, lest she face another public shaming session at the hands of her boss, Kagome had set her alarm clock an hour earlier and tried to convince herself that it would be worth the loss of sleep. But that morning she had awoken to the scent of something burning and when she had looked around her room, wildly searching for the source of the smell, she saw a rat youkai chewing through the wiring of her clock. Kagome had screamed bloody murder and attacked the rat with the lamp on her bedside table.

It wasn't until later, when she was standing in the shower lathering shampoo through her hair, that she was struck by the thought that that was the first youkai she had seen in five years. It seemed that demons had simply all but vanished from the modern world. Distracted by the realization, her eyes snapped open, allowing some of the shampoo that had been dripping down her face to get into them, and the stinging discomfort made her forget all about the rat for the time being.

Shoes finally on, she dropped her purse and shrugged her tan raincoat on with some difficulty, as one of the sleeves managed to get itself twisted around her arm. Kagome tore the door open and raced out and down the steps, eating her toast as she went. If she really hurried, she could still make the Eight o'clock train. The weather outside was cool and gray; the dark, fat clouds in the sky sat ominously above her, threatening to open up and dump rain on her at any second.

_Please don't rain on me._ She pleaded to whatever gods might have been listening. The only response she got was an icy gust of wind rolling down the street, tugging at her hair and crawling underneath her clothing to make her shiver; her conservative black pencil skirt and white collared shirt did nothing to stop its invasion.

"Stupid wind, stupid clothes, stupid week." She huffed as she ran.

_I’m out of shape_ , Kagome realized. Since she had stopped hoofing it all across feudal Japan in search of Shikon shards and Naraku, she hadn't really taken on any other sort of physical activity to make up for it. Not to mention she was wearing the worst running shoes _ever_.

The adorable black pumps with three inch heels had been a gift from her mother for her twentieth birthday, and they were perfect for sitting at a desk or going on a date– not that she actually managed to go on many of those– but they were awful for just about everything else. The toes pinched and the backs rubbed her heels raw. She would have blisters for sure by the end of the day.

As she rounded a corner, another gust of wind hit her; this one came head on, bringing with it the scent of… _blood_. Kagome gagged, stumbling to a stop. There, in front of her, lay the mutilated corpses of a man, a woman, and two small children.

_A family._ She realized, horrified.

And standing over the bodies were a pack of snarling wolves, all with glowing red eyes that were now fixed directly on her. She could hear her blood rushing in her ears and she felt dizzy, as if she were standing on a very tall building, looking down at the scene from very far away. Then one of the wolves looked up at her, bloody froth dripping from its jaws, and reality hit her like a slap in the face.

_Damn it!_ Kagome cursed; she had no weapon and there was no way she could outrun the creatures.

The wolf began to advance on her, it's teeth bared in a snarl. Kagome took a step back. The other wolves, taking a cue from their leader started towards her as well. She took another step back. Then they attacked.

With a scream, Kagome ripped her purse off her shoulder and swung it like a mace. It smacked into the first wolf and her eyes widened as she saw the leather bag glowing with the soft pink of her miko powers. The wolf yelped as it crashed to the ground, the place where it's body had come into contact with her purse was blistered and blackened, as if it had been burnt.

The rest of the pack circled her, briefly confused by the failure of their leader's attack. Then another wolf darted forward, and the rest moved in again. Kagome spun like a ballerina, purse held by the end of the strap, cutting a wide arc around her. She caught three move wolves with it and they too dropped like their alpha, but the final wolf crashed into her back. She slammed into the sidewalk, palms and knees scraping against the concrete, as her breath was knocked out of her body.

She felt teeth grabbing a hold of the back of her raincoat and heard a _rip_ as the wolf tore away the part of her jacket clenched between its jaws. She rolled over, kicking out with her left foot, and the spiked heel of her shoe caught the youkai in its soft belly. It flew off of her, yelping. Around her, the other wolves, which had been downed by her purse, were beginning to stir and some of them were coming to their feet. Looking around desperately, Kagome felt dread set in, she could only defend herself for so long, but with no bow and no Inuyasha, her options were limited. Then she saw the truck coming down the street and a desperate plan formed in her mind.

_Well, I'm going to be torn to shreds by wolves if I don't do anything, ether way I'm probably dead, at least this way it'll be quick._ She reasoned with herself.

Then she turned and ran out into the street. Just as she hoped, the wolves lunged after her. Her ankle twisted as she took a bad step on the uneven asphalt of the road, but she kept going, not daring to look back and then she heard the loud blast of the truck's horn and felt the wind of its passage less than a meter behind her. Then she heard it; a sickeningly glorious combination of sounds. The squealing of tires, the high-pitched yelping of injured wolves and the crunch of bones breaking as the truck plowed into the pack.

She didn't stick around to see if any of the wolves were still alive, or to answer the truck driver's frantic calls to her, instead, she bolted back in the direction from which she had come.

_This is no coincidence. It can’t be!_ Blood pounded in her ears as she ran. _I haven't seen a single youkai in five years, and suddenly within a few hours I see a whole bunch? Something's not right._

She heard a scream to her left and spared a brief glance in that direction, only to see a flying snake youkai wrapping itself around a man in a business suit, who was beating on the creature with his black briefcase. Venom dripped from the demon’s fangs as it reared back, preparing to strike at its captured prey.

Kagome thought for half a second about leaving him, but her conscience wouldn't let her. She dashed across the street and hit the youkai as hard as she could with her purse. Stunned, the snake uncoiled and collapsed, dropping the man on his rear, where he sat, gibbering incoherently and crying.

“Oh god, oh god! What– how?” He sobbed.

"What are you sitting here for?" She yelled at him, "Go! Get out of here!"

The man scrambled to his feet and ran off as fast as his legs would carry him. Kagome looked back at the snake which was now begging to stir, and then down at her– now very battered– purse. With a grimace, Kagome gripped the bag with both hands, and proceeded to beat the youkai over the head until it lay still.

Looking around, she felt fear wash over her. There were youkai _everywhere_. She could not fight all of them on her own, she had neither the weapons, the time, nor the resources. Her best bet would be to find the source of their sudden appearance and neutralize it. At that moment, more than ever before, she wished that Inuyasha were still with her.

And then she felt it; a tug at the very center of her being.

_Where is it coming from?_ She closed her eyes and concentrated. _The well_.

Kagome kicked off her shoes, leaving them on the sidewalk, and barefoot, she bolted home.

_All hell is breaking loose and I can feel the well! This is not a coincidence!_ Excitement and fear warred within her. Could the well have reopened and be spitting youkai into the modern world; could it really be that simple?

_And if youkai can come here, does that mean I can go there?_ An idea struck her and for the first time she felt like she might have a chance.

She raced up the stairs outside of her family's shrine and as she reached the top her mother came flying out the door.

"Kagome, thank goodness you're safe!" She threw her arms around her daughter, and then pulled her into the house, slamming the door and locking it behind them. Stepping away from Kagome, Mrs. Higurashi took in her daughter's disheveled and slightly bloodied appearance and raised her hand to her mouth to cover her gasp.

"The youkai, Kagome! They’re everywhere! Were you attacked?" She reached out and smoothed down Kagome's mussed up hair, and turning her daughter’s head this way and that to check for injuries.

"I'm ok, mama, I promise." She moved past her mother, into the house. "But we have a bigger problem on our hands. I think they're all coming through the well."

"The well! I thought you said it didn't work any more." Mrs. Higurashi's voice was tight with fear.

"It didn't, but I can feel it calling to me." The two women made their way back to the rear of the house and Kagome peered out the window. Sure enough the well shrine was surrounded by youkai.

Her face tightened with resolve, Kagome turned to her mother. "I'm going to grab a few things, then I'm going to go take care of this."

"All alone?" Cried her mother.

"Nope. I'm going to go get the best youkai slayer I know." The corner of her lip lifted slightly as determination sparked in her eyes.

"You really think the well has reopened?"

"I'm positive that it has and I don't know anyone more qualified to take care of this problem than Inuyasha." She hurried up the stairs to her room.

She stripped out of her clothing at lightning speed and pulled on a pair of jeans and a long sleeved pink shirt. Then she grabbed the backpack that had sat in the corner of her room for the past five years- _just in case_ \- and the bow and quiver of arrows that rested next to it.

When she returned to the main floor, her mother was standing at the foot of the stairs worrying her lip with her teeth.

"Where are Souta and Grandpa?" Kagome asked.

"They’re boarding up the doors on the other side of the house."

"Good. Lock yourselves in, get Grandpa to put up as many ofuda as he can, and do not leave unless you absolutely have to. I'll be back as soon as possible with Inuyasha and we'll take care of everything. " She directed as she made her way to the back door and shoved her feet into a pair of tennis shoes.

Then slung her bag over her shoulder, kissed her mother on the cheek, and ran out the door.

As she approached the well shrine she knocked an arrow and waited for a few seconds till she felt the warm rush of her powers, then she let it fly towards the clustered youkai.

They scattered like roaches in a dark room, evading the beam of a flashlight. She darted into the shrine, which was bizarrely devoid of youkai. However a powerful, demonic aura filled the air, youki, thick as miasma nearly choked her and Kagome almost lost her nerve. Her family’s faces flashed in her mind and she steeled herself. Taking a deep breath, she dashed down the steps then hopped into the well.

The minute her feet left the ground she knew something was different. Instead of falling straight down, it felt like she was being jerked from side to side, banging into sharp objects and slamming into walls as she went. Her bow hit something in the darkness and she heard it snap. Then suddenly she heard a ripping sound and felt the weight of her backpack being pulled away from her. Coldness spread through her and terror caused her heart to race. The youki intensified until she could barely breathe.

_What is happening?_

Then suddenly she was sitting on the ground at the bottom of the well, blinking in the early morning sunshine.

Kagome took a deep breath and smelled… _clean_. The air here was pure, without a hint of smog or pollution. She felt tears pick behind her eyelids. She was back in the Sengoku Jidai. The youki was still there, but it felt distant.

With great effort, she dragged herself to her feet and climbed out of the well. The evil presence that she had felt earlier was still there, but it was diminished somewhat now and she felt the tension in her shoulders easing just slightly. Her ordeal wasn't over yet; though she was safe, her family was still in danger, so she took off towards the village.

It was the same as she remembered; squat wooden huts, villagers sitting in clusters on steps, chattering as they worked, digging in gardens and groups of children chasing each other up and down the road. Despite the terror of her morning and the urgency of her task, tears of nostalgia pricked at Kagome’s eyes.

It was Rin who saw Kagome first as she came out of the forest. Her eyes grew wide and she gave a yell of delight, causing Shippou, who was sitting next to her, to slice clean through the radish he was peeling.

"What the hell, Rin-?"

"Kagomeeeee!" Rin dumped the load of bandages that she had been winding off of her lap and onto the floor, as she leapt to her feet.

Shippou's mouth widened into a wide grin and left to his feet after her. They collided with Kagome simultaneously, smothering her in a massive bear hug. For a few seconds Kagome was stunned and very confused. Then she looked at the faces of the young man and woman who were clinging to her.

The young woman was short and willowy, with wide blue eyes and an abundance of shiny black hair. The man on the other hand was actually a teenage boy, still gangly with youth, and his foxy brown hair matched the large, fluffy tail that protruded from the base of his spine. His turquoise eyes and mischievous smile tugged at her heart, stirring memories from her younger days.

"Shippou! Rin!" She hugged them back and a few tears leaked out of her eyes. Oh yes, she was _back_.

The racket they had raised had alerted the rest of the village to the fact that something was going on and people were coming out of huts and sticking their heads around corners to see what the commotion was all about.

"Where's Inuyasha?" She asked, laughing.

"Oh, he's probably in his hut! Come on, we'll take you!" Shippou and Rin each took one of her hands as they led her through the huts. The village seemed bigger now; there were more huts than there had been when she had last been there.

"You guys are so grown up now! How long was I gone?" She asked.

"Well, I was eight when you left and I’m now nineteen… so you were gone…" Rin paused, brow furrowed, as she tried to do the math in her head.

"Eleven years." Kagome finished for her, frowning slightly. That seemed off; normally the time in the Sengoku Jidai passed at the same rate that it did in her world.

They came around the corner and stopped dead. There, standing in front of a hut, arguing loudly with another man, was Inuyasha. But he wasn't Inuyasha as Kagome had last seen him. He was _human_.

"I-Inuyahsa?" She called and he spun around, eyes wide.

"Kagome?" He stepped forward. "Is that you?"

She nodded, not quite trusting her voice at that moment. He raced forwards and wrapped her in a hug. Her face was pressed into a familiar red-clad shoulder as a pair of strong arms came around her back to hold her to him. She buried her face in that shoulder and felt tears beginning to leak out of her eyes.

_Wrong._ Said her brain.

"I thought you were gone for good! We all did! How did you get back? He said, breathlessly as he stepped away from her.

"The well reopened." She told him as she wiped her eyes, frowning. "That's actually why I came back; I need help. Youkai are coming through-"

She stopped and shook her head; her temples pounded and she felt a strange pressure in her head, as the idea that her confusion in Inuyasha's humanity was erroneous tried to insert itself into her brain. Half of her knew that he was supposed to be a hanyou, while the other half was insisting that he had become human after the final battle with Naraku. The two memories laid side by side, where only one should be.

_It’s stress, it must be. Nothing else makes sense. There is another explanation for this._

"You said that youkai are showing up in your time?" He interrupted her train of though, momentarily distracting her.

"Yeah. I can't handle them by myself and when I felt the well reopen I hoped that maybe you could help me." She looked up at him, into his brown eyes.

_Wrong, wrong!_ Insisted her brain.

"Kagome?" Said a voice from behind her and she felt the ground drop out from underneath her feet. She spun around and stared at the woman behind her. Tall and as ethereally beautiful as the last time that Kagome had seen her, the older miko stood with a basket of flowers propped on one hip.

"K-Kikyou? How are you here?" Kagome stammered, drawing back in shock. _I'm losing it. I've finally gone around the bend._ She thought weakly.

Inuyasha's brow creased in confusion. "What are you talking about, Kagome? She's been with us since you saved her after that fight with Naraku. The one where he took the jewel even after you shot him with that bow from Mount Azusa. You remember, right?"

"What are you going on about, Inuyasha?" Kagome frowned. She could feel a strange ache beginning anew in one of her temples, again as if something was trying to force it's way into her head. She jabbed her finger in Kikyo's direction. "Kikyou _died_ in that fight! I couldn't save her."

Kagome could picture that moment in vivid detail; it had been one of the most heartbreaking things that she had ever watched and there had been absolutely nothing that she could have done to prevent it. It had eaten her up inside for months. The ache intensified and she pressed her hand to the side of her head.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha stepped forward to her and lay his hand on her shoulder, "What's wrong?"

Kagome jerked away from him as if she had been burned. She could still remember the horrible scene of Kikyo's death, but on top of that memory was another one. In this second memory Kagome watched herself pressing her hands against Kikyou's wounds and drawing the darkness within them to the surface, where it hovered like a thick, black storm cloud above her body. Then, she watched herself purifying the evil miasma.

_Wrong, wrong, wrong!_ Screamed her brain, but she could not deny that she suddenly knew that she had saved Kikyou's life during that fight.

" _No_." She gasped; it wasn't just little things that were different, this whole _world_ was different. Somehow Kagome had stumbled into a parallel version of _her_ Sengoku Jidai. She had to go, she needed to leave _now,_ before any more of these new memories slid inside of her mind, destabilizing the truth of her world, any further. She would go back through the well and try again. Maybe this time she would end up in the right place.

"Kagome, what's going on?" He stepped towards her again but she turned and fled, running through the village as fast as she could. She had to get back to the well. She had to go back to her time and try again. Inuyahsa was human, Kikyou was alive; this time was _wrong_ and she couldn't stay any longer.

"Kagome, where are you going?" Cried Shippou.

"Kagome! Wait!" Kikyou called out, but that was all Kagome heard; the rest of her words were cut off by the sound of the wind in her ears as she ran.

She scrambled over brambles and fallen logs, stumbling as her shoes slipped on the loose rocks on the forest floor. Branches whipped past her, and she kept her hands up to protect her face as she ran. She skidded to a stop in front of the well with a gasp of horror.

Hovering above the well was a shapeless, black _thing_ whose very being exuded evil so strongly that it made her feel sick. Its great, bulbous eyes were filled with hate and when they fixed on her, she felt dread shoot through her body. It opened its awful mouth and _roared_ at her and she felt the marrow freeze in her bones. There was no doubt in her mind that this being was the presence that had been hanging about in the well shrine; the one responsible for all the death and destruction, and for sending both the youkai to her time, and her to this distorted version of the past.

_What should I do?_ She bit her lip. _I have to get to that well, I can't stay here. I have no bow and arrows… what can I-_

Looking around she saw a medium sized branch, about the size of a baseball bat lying on the ground. She darted to the side and picked it up. Holding it in her hands, she focused all of her energy on the bough until it began to grow warm against her skin as she filled it with the pure energy of her miko powers.

With a grunt, she tossed the branch as hard as she could towards the creature. It hit dead on and the acrid scent of smoke filled the air as the creature let out a sound of rage that brought tears to Kagome's eyes. It reared up and then dove down into the well.

_What do I do, what do I do? I didn’t kill it, I didn’t even really hurt it, I just pissed it off and sent it back into the well!_

Kagome dropped to her knees, her body limp and shaking. With the creature still lurking inside the passage between time, she was trapped in the twisted version of the Sengoku Jidai with no possible means of escape, because there was no power heaven or hell that could force her into that well while the being still lurked there.

Then to her left, she felt another wave of powerful youki.

_No, no, please not this! Why does life hate me so much?_ She thought, as she turned her head and looked up… and into the narrowed golden eyes of Sesshomaru.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After ages– and by that I mean like four years at this point– of thinking about it, I finally decided to post this story over here. It was two chapters away from being finished and I always felt kind of bad that I left a bunch of people hanging on it when I left the fandom.
> 
> It seems like all is sort of quiet on the fandom front these days, probably since the manga ended and people have moved on. But for the like... 5 of you who were around back when this was originally uploading and are still reading SK fic, hopefully this does not come too late to be enjoyed.
> 
> Love,  
> RM Avalon


	2. Memories

Sitting in the forest floor, staring up into Sesshomaru's golden eyes, Kagome's mind went completely blank. They watched each other from across the clearing, her heart racing in anticipation. In the Sengoku Jidai that she had known, he had become something of an ally, even going so far as to save her life a few times. But here, where the world had apparently been stood on it's ear, she found herself at a loss, unsure of what he would do.

He looked almost exactly the same as he had the last time she'd seen him, though possibly a little bit older. His hair waved softly in the breeze that wafted through the forest, but that was the only par of him that moved.

 _There always was a strange stillness to Sesshomaru,_ she mused, _as if the world moves around him while he remains stationary_. _In a way though, I suppose it does._

"What are you doing here, Miko? After so long, I assumed that you were never coming back." He asked, breaking her from her thoughts.

"I… I'm not sure any more." She said after a minute.

Sesshomaru raised one eyebrow, almost imperceptibly; if she had not been looking at him so intently, she would have missed it. "You will explain your statement."

"I think I'm in the wrong place." Kagome said as she pushed herself to her feet, wincing as her muscles decided to inform her that the adrenaline, which had propelled her for the first part of her day, had completely worn off. She brushed away the dirt and debris that clung to her jeans. The feeling of the abraded skin on her palms rubbing against the rough material made her grimace.

"We should get away from the well, before we talk any more." She told him. If he wanted to talk, it seemed a safe bet that Sesshomaru wasn't going to kill her, so she relaxed a bit. Strangely enough there was no insistent pounding in her head telling her what her new memories of him should be.

"Does your presence have anything to do with the massive youki I felt earlier?" He asked as they began to head away from the well and further into the forest. Kagome knew that it would probably be safer to head back to the village, but she couldn't bring herself to return yet and she felt no immediate danger from Sesshomaru.

"I'm almost positive it does." She told him as she stepped over a fallen log. "I actually don't know if you're going to believe me when I tell you what's going on."

He snorted derisively. "You would not dare to deceive this Sesshomaru; it would be pointless to even try, I would know if you were lying."

After a few minutes walk they came to a clearing and Kagome lowered herself to the ground at the base of a large tree and leaned back. She left out a deep breath and looked up at him again.

"You can sit down, you know." She told him but he merely leaned against the tree to his right.

"You will stop stalling now. Explain why you are here again after so long."

"I'm… I'm from the future." Kagome began, "I came here the first time by falling down that well, which is behind my family's house five hundred years from now. I'm not really sure how it was that I was able to travel back and forth through time through that well, but whatever magic let me do it suddenly stopped working after the jewel was completed and I was stuck in my original time. After I was returned to my time I tried everything I could think of to get back. After I broke my ankle a second time from jumping into the well, I gave up. I remained there for five years, thinking that the well was completely closed to me.

"There are no youkai in my time, or if there are, they are so well hidden that even I cannot feel them." Again, she saw Sesshomaru's eyebrow rise slightly and she wondered what he was thinking. _Maybe he's wondering if he's still around then._ "This morning I was woken up by a rat youkai chewing on something in my house. Then on my way to work I was attacked by a pack of wolf youkai, and after that there were youkai _everywhere_. Covering buildings, killing people." She shuddered, remembering the faces of the butchered family she had come upon. That was one thing she had not missed about the Sengoku Jidai; while there was still death everywhere in the modern world, it was somehow less real, because she heard about it in the newspaper or on the TV.

"I was searching for the origin of all the youkai when I felt a pull, like the well was calling to me and I knew that it had been reopened. Inuyahsa has always been the one who I've gone to for help with youkai problems so I went to it and I jumped in, only… today it took me to a different version of this time than it should have. See, when I left this time before, Kikyou was dead and Inuyasha was still a hanyou." She finished softly and looked away from him. Sun filtered down through the trees, dappling the ground with light and shade. Though she was seated in a patch of sunlight, she felt very cold as she waited for Sesshomaru to speak.

"… You were correct, your story does sound very far-fetched. However I can sense no deception from you. You did not explain everything, though. What does the youkai in the well have to do with you being here?" He asked.

She frowned. "I'm not really sure what the connection there is, but I feel like it was definitely responsible for the youkai in my time, and for me landing here, instead of where I'm supposed to be. I felt its presence hanging about the well when I went through it earlier, but I thought it was just because there were so many youkai around that the feeling of evil was so strong there."

"Hn." Was his only response.

They stayed there in silence for a few beats, then Kagome blurted, "I don't mean to offend you, but why are you talking to me?"

Sesshomaru blinked at her. Then he let out a soft huff almost like a… laugh? Her eyes shot to his face and she was shocked to see the barest hint of amusement hovering around the corner of his mouth and in the depths of his own amber gaze.

"I was unaware," he said leisurely, "that I was required to have a reason to talk to you."

Her eyes widened. _Is he…_ joking _with me? Sesshomaru has a sense of humor?_

"I, uh, the Sesshomaru that I know just barely tolerates me." She stammered, blushing. “I actually think this is the most words we’ve spoken to each other… ever.”

It was as if someone had thrown water on a fire. Sesshomaru's face went from slightly amused to completely blank in under a second.

 _I shouldn't have said that…_ she realized, _now he's probably suspicious of me._

"It is obvious that I am not the Sesshomaru who you knew, just as you are not the you who I know." Her heart skipped a beat; his voice was cold and detached. "It seems that you still have a problem, though; if my guess is correct, then you cannot go back through that well because the youkai still resides within it." He said.

"Ah, yeah. I really don't want to go near that thing again; my full powers did almost nothing other than annoy it and I know it will kill me if it sees me again."

"I may have a solution."

Surprised, she looked up. "You want to help me?"

He looked down at her coolly. "That creature has been causing problems for me as well. I came here today because I felt that this place was the origin of a sudden stream of relatively powerful youkai who have been ravaging my lands."

"Oh." Her heart sank a little further down in her chest. She had only glimpsed it for a few short moments, but she liked the softer side of Sesshomaru and she missed it now that it was gone.

_How can you miss something you don't really even know? Snap out of it, Kagome, now is not the time to be getting distracted by unimportant things._

"There was, many years ago, an time when a great many powerful Youkai began to descend on the countryside. During that time, my lord father was still in his early years as the lord of the Western Lands. When he could not defeat the youkai who was at the heart of the problem, he sought out the miko, Hoshiko, who had become renowned for her unsurpassed talent when it came to fighting with powerful, out of control youkai. He allied with her and together they slew it. She may be able to help us with the creature dwelling in your well."

"Wait, wait!" Kagome held up her hands, "You just told me this person was a miko who was alive when _your_ outo-san was _young_. Miko are human, Sesshomaru, we don't live that long."

"This one has." He tilted his head slightly in the direction of the village. "We have company."

"Kagome? Sesshomaru? Where are you guys?" Shippou's voice rang through the forest. It was strange to Kagome; it hadn't broken yet, but it was still deeper than she remembered it being.

"We're over here, Shippou!" She called, standing up and a few seconds later he ran into the clearing.

"You're ok!" He launched himself at Kagome and enveloped her in a hug. "We felt this horrible wave of youki all the way back at the village and went after you, but you weren't at the well any more. Kikiyo put up a barrier around the whole area but she says that she doesn’t know how long it will hold. Inuyasha and the others are back at the village, trying to get things in order up there."

She petted his back comfortingly. "I chased the youkai off for now. How did you know that I hadn't gone into the well? And how could you tell that Sesshomaru was here too?"

"I may not be an inuyoukai, but I've still got a good sense of smell." He boasted, puffing out his chest with a grin. Then his smile fell. "Kagome, why did you run away earlier?"

"You can tell the kitsune while we walk to the village. If you want to accompany me on my journey to the miko's home, you'd best prepare. I'll be leaving early tomorrow morning."

"Journey? What's he talking about Kagome?" Shippou asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

"It's a long story." She said, and then she proceeded to tell him.

They walked and she spoke, but all the while, Kagome watched Sesshomaru in front of her. He confused her. For a few minutes he had acted as if they were almost friends- or if not friends then at least on decent terms with one another- then suddenly he had gone cold and it was like the first Sesshomaru had been a figment of her imagination. She frowned. There was something that she wasn't seeing. He had to have given her a clue as to why his behavior had changed.

"So what's so important about this miko?" Shippou tugged on her sleeve, bringing her back to reality.

"Oh, well she once defeated a Youkai like this one, so Sesshomaru and I are going to go find her to see if she can do it again." She told him.

"I'm coming too!" He declared, the second she finished speaking.

"Are you sure? It's going to be dangerous." She told him.

"Hah! It can't be more dangerous than Naraku and I've been stuck in this stupid village for eleven years now; I want to get out again!"

"This will not be a pleasure trip, kitsune." Said Sesshomaru, startling both of them. Neither one had been aware that he was paying any mind to their conversation.

"I know that! But someone's gotta come along to keep Kagome company and look out for her."

Sesshomaru stopped and turned back to look at Shippou, who backed up a step, involuntarily under the weight of his stare. "Are you implying that I would let her come to harm while she traveled with me?"

"N-no!" Shippou stammered.

"Hey! Cut it out." Kagome glared at Sesshomaru. "There's no need to intimidate him."

His gaze slid over to Kagome and she met it dead on. She held his eyes for a few seconds, and then he turned suddenly and began walking again.

When they got to the center of the village again, Inuyasha, Kikyou, and Rin confronted them. Inuyasha stood with his arms crossed and the girls flanked him, one on either side, though Rin left her place the second she saw Sesshomaru- she launched herself at him, much in the same way that Shippou had just done to Kagome, with a happy cry of "Sesshomaru!".

"Oi, Kagome. You owe us an explanation here. What's going on?" Asked Inuyasha.

Kagome pressed her hand to her forehead. "I'm getting really tired of explaining this. Can we at least go sit somewhere comfortable?"

"We can use our hut." Volunteered Kikyou.

"What happened to Kade's?" Kagome asked, looking at the hut that had belonged to the old miko.

"She passed away a few years after you left." Said Shippou, in a soft voice.

Kagome felt her heart clench painfully and she blinked her eyes a few times to fight back the tears that threatened to spill down her face. Kade had been both a mentor and a friend and she felt a well of remorse open because she hadn't been able to say a proper goodbye.

"So," Said Inuyasha breaking up the pall that had settled over the group, "Our hut?"

The group moved off towards the specified hut. Sesshomaru detached Rin from his waist and sent her off in the same direction.

"Early tomorrow morning." He called to Kagome. Then he turned and strode off through the village, parting the villagers like the red sea as he went.

"What's he talking about?" Asked Rin as she caught up with everyone.

"I promise I'll explain everything, let's just sit down first so I don't have to do this again. Actually, would someone please go get Sango and Miroku if they're here? I want to see them again too."

Inuyasha and Shippou looked at each other.

"They're not here right now. In fact, they're hardly ever here; they're off hunting youkai together." Said Shippou, glaring at Inuyasha. _There's a story there,_ thought Kagome, _I'll ask him about it tomorrow._

Inuyasha held up the bamboo curtain that served as the door to their hut, they filed inside and settled themselves around the fire pit at the center. And for the third time that day, Kagome explained how it was that she had come to be in the wrong Sengoku Jidai.

Hours later, after the group had finally tired of asking her question after question, Kagome looked down at the fithy, tattered state of her clothing and declared that she was going to go bathe. She borrowed a set of miko's robes from Kikyou and slipped off to the lake near the village.

It was nearly dark at that point, the sun was hastily vanishing over the horizon and the temperature was dropping quickly along with it. Kagome shivered in the crisp air and hugged the robes to her chest. As she trudged along the path she mulled over the insane twist that her life had taken in the past day.

"Mama, Grandpa, Souta… I hope you're all ok." She muttered under her breath. _It doesn't look like I'm going to be getting back nearly as soon as I want to, so please stay safe until I can come help you!_

When she reached the water she set the bundle of clothes on one of the large, smooth rocks that lined the river, glancing around to make sure she was alone she stripped out of her ruined clothing, then hurried into the water. She yelped as the cold hit her sore muscles making them seize and tighten.

 _What I wouldn't give for a hot springs right now!_ She thought as she dunked her head under the water.

When she came back up for air she flipped her hair back, sending a spray of droplets across the lake. She giggled a little bit; her fifteen year old self had tossing her hair like a girl in a shampoo commercial. Sinking back down in the water, she sat on the floor of the lake and wrapped her arms around her knees. As she was, only her head was above the water and now that she had adjusted to the temperature, it had begun to feel rather nice. She heaved a sigh and watched as her breath made the water before her mouth ripple.

"Foolish girl." Said a voice from out of the darkness and Kagome let out a scream of fright as she stood up, spun around, lost her footing, and fell back into the water with a splash.

When she broke the surface, gasping for breath, she shoved the hair out of her eyes and stared in the direction from which the voice had come. There, lounging on a tree-limb, looking up at the foliage above his head with one leg dangling slightly off the side, was Sesshomaru.

"What are you doing here?" She cried, "Were you spying on me? Oh my god, you saw me _naked_!"

"Calm yourself, miko, you are making a racket." He drawled, a tiny bit of the "Sesshomaru with a sense of humor", as she'd come to think of him, showing through. "This Sesshomaru would never stoop so low as to spy on a bathing woman. I simply felt your presence and thought that perhaps you might wish to remain alive for the rest of the night. There were four youkai headed this way, all intent on your demise."

"I… I don't even notice them. I guess I was distracted." She said, sheepishly.

"Distraction will get you killed, miko. I thought you were smarter than that." And just like that, he was regular Sesshomaru again.

She frowned, wrapping her arms around her knees under the water again. It felt like it had suddenly dropped ten degrees.

"Sesshomaru… did… did I- or the me that you knew- do something to offend you?" She asked.

He looked at her suddenly and even in the darkness she could see the glow of his golden eyes as they stared at her. He held her in his gaze for a few beats.

"No." He said it so softly that she almost missed it.

"Then why-"

"Finish your bath, miko, then go back to the village. Remember, we're departing early tomorrow morning and I will not wait around if you are taking forever." The he leapt out of the tree and vanished into the forest.

 _What just happened there?_ Her heart was racing and her skin suddenly felt too hot, as if she had stood too close to a fire. She finished up her bath quickly and hurried back to Inuyasha and Kikyou's hut.

When she came through the door, Inuyasha was the only one there.

"Where'd everyone go?" She asked him, as she set her folded pile of dirty clothing on the ground, to use at a pillow later.

"Kikyou went to go shore up the barrier and Shippou is helping Rin pack. She's decided that she's going with you guys tomorrow."

"Oh." She said lamely, looking around the hut. It had never been awkward to talk to him before, but she felt like the Inuyasha before her was a complete stranger. He looked mostly the same as he had on full moon nights, but he was older now. Eleven years made a lot of difference in the lifespan of a human.

"Inuyahsa… are you happy?" She asked suddenly, looking him in the eyes.

A slow smile broke over his face. "Yeah, I am."

She nodded. "I'm glad. That was always my wish for you, you know. I just wanted you to be happy."

"How about you?" he asked her.

"I'm… working on it. Or I was, before all of this. Now I really don't know what I am, except confused." She gave a little, humorless laugh at that.

"You'll figure this out and things will get better." He told her. "I wish we could go with you, but Kikyou says that the barrier won’t last long even with her here to maintain it, but she can't just leave the village undefended. And I can’t just leave her here alone, someone has to protect her while she’s protecting everyone else. I know that you'll do what you need to, to beat this youkai."

She nodded and took the spare kimono, which Kikyou had lent her to use as a blanket, and curled up underneath it, pillowing her head on the bundle of battered clothing.

"Inuyasha?"

"What?"

"What was going on with the other me and Sesshomaru? I have no memories of what I've supposedly experienced with him here and he's acting very strange around me."

Inuyasha's face grew shuttered. "That you'll have to ask him."

"Is it some big secret?" She asked, exasperated.

"No, it's just that none of us could really tell you what was going on. You disappeared for a few days at one point and when you came back, he was with you. He's sort of hung around ever since, but he hasn't acted much different and you never told any of us what happened." He shrugged. "Don't worry too much about it."

She worried about it all night, until the sun crept in through the door-curtain, letting her know that morning had arrived.


	3. Curiouser and Curiouser

The day dawned bright and crisp, with a light breeze that blew through the trees and stirred the grass. Kagome yawned and stretched as she stood outside Inuyasha and Kikyou’s hut in the morning sunshine. Shippou and Rin stood beside her chattering happily as they waited for Sesshomaru to arrive. For all his warnings about being on time, he was the one holding up their departure.

Kagome turned and looked towards the forest. She could still feel the presence of the Well Youkai, as she had begun to call it, lurking around the edge of her field of perception. Every once in a while it’s youki would flare stronger and she would feel bile rising in her throat in response. The creature was just so fundamentally _evil_ that it ran absolutely contrary to every part of her being. It was a perversion of nature, a thing like Naraku, which was made of nothing but malice and hate. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to chase away a deep chill that had settled into her bones that had nothing to do with the temperature.

“Sesshomaru is here!” Rin’s excited outburst pulled her out of her head and back to reality.

The taiyoukai in question strode down the main row of huts, again scattering the villagers in his wake. It was almost funny the way they leapt to the side to avoid him. She understood it, though; his youki was so strong that it was uncomfortable for most normal humans to be around. He looked over the trio before him with his usual disinterest.

“Come.” He said, and then without stopping, he walked past them towards the other end of the village. They followed after him, Rin and Shippou dashing ahead, along the path. It amazed Kagome slightly that in the eleven years she had been gone, that Rin had not really lost much of her youthful innocence and exuberance for life.

_I’m envious,_ she realized, _she’s nearly the same age as I am, but she’s so much happier and at peace with life. She’s so carefree, even on a journey like this, she really doesn’t have any clue as to the scope of the destruction that this the youkai is causing and she’s content in her ignorance._

Kagome could not begrudge Rin that happiness, though.

“Whatcha’ thinking about, Kagome?” Asked Shippou, dropping back to talk to her.

“Not much, really. Just thinking about the Well Youkai.” She told him, as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “I really hope this Hoshiko can help us. If she can’t I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

“I’m sure she’ll help!” He said confidently, “If she’s as old as Sesshomaru says she is then she’s gotta know everything about fighting youkai; you don’t get to be that old without being able to defend yourself.”

Kagome smiled at him. “You’re probably right.”

They walked side by side in silence for a few minutes. Birds flew overhead and the grass along the roadside waved in the breeze. The Well Youkai’s presence was growing fainter and fainter the farther away they went and Kagome felt a knot of tension, which she had been carrying in her chest, release.

“Shippou, I was wondering something.” Said Kagome, suddenly, “Last night you seemed angry at Inuyasha about something when I brought up Sango and Miroku. What’s going on?”

“Oh. _That_.” He growled. “You know how Kikyou seemed super nice and helpful last night?”

Kagome nodded. “I have a couple of memories of the two of us getting along alright after I saved her life.”

“She’s not like that most of the time.” He told her, glaring at the ground as the walked. “After you left, it’s like she went back to being the old Kikyou, but only when Inuyasha’s not around. It’s like she’s two different people.”

“What do you mean?” Kagome asked frowning at him.

“A few weeks after you left, she started to get really possessive of Inuyasha; she would get jealous when he spent time with us without her. Then a few years ago she went from just being kind of rude, to unbearable, to actually kind of… scary, when Inuyasha was out of earshot.”

Shippou looked away.

“Well, me and Sango and Miroku- all agreed that there was something weird going on with her and we were all getting tired of her behavior. Sango confronted Kikyou about it and she went ballistic. She told Sango to mind her own business, stay away from her and Inuyasha, and she kinda’ suggested that if she didn’t, that she would make her life a living hell.”

Of course Sango told me, Rin, and Miroku and we all went to talk to Inuyasha about it, but he pretty much told us all we were being crazy, because Kikyou is perfect in his eyes and can do no wrong.” Shippou sighed, “That was sort of the beginning of the end for all of us as a group. Sango and Miroku left a little while after that and then Kaede died. I thought about leaving a few times but I didn’t want to leave Rin by herself, you know?” He blushed a little bit at the end.

Though the news about Kikyou was disturbing to say the least, she couldn’t help the fact that a slow, teasing smile spread over her face. “You _like_ her, don’t you?” Kagome said softly, so that Rin wouldn’t hear.

“No I do not!” He yelped, turning a fiery crimson. Both Sesshomaru and Rin turned to look at Shippou, and he blushed even deeper. “Anyway,” he said, sobering- though the blush still lingered- “Sango and Miroku have come back a couple of times, but they stay away from the village for the most part, these days.”

Kagome frowned. Something that had been hovering at the edge of her mind suddenly came into sharp focus. She should have felt very upset about Kikyou’s behavior and about her marriage to Inuyahsa, the man that she had loved for so many years. Even though her feelings had faded a little over time, she had still held onto the possibility that maybe someday she could go back through the well and be with him again.

Since coming to the Sengoku Jidai again, she had experienced a whirlwind of feelings; nearly everything that happened to her evoked an extreme emotion. However, when she thought about Inuyasha or Kikyou her feelings were all muted, almost like she was experiencing them through a filter.

Kagome frowned. Again, she was positive that she was missing something large and very critical.

_What kind of life was I leading here?_ She wondered. _So far my other self seems to have had a secret adventure with Sesshomaru and now my feelings about Kikyou and Inuyasha are messed up too…_

Her head throbbed and for a moment she thought that she was about to have another flash of memory, but the pounding remained and she realized that it was just a run of the mill headache.

They trudged on as the sun climbed steadily into the sky overhead.

After a few hours Kagome’s body was screaming at her. Her muscles, which had been so thoroughly abused the day before groaned in protest with every step she took. The straps of her sandals rubbed against her feet leaving blisters along the backs of her ankles. She didn’t dare ask Sesshomaru if they could stop, though. The taiyoukai had pointedly ignored her for the entire trip. Of course, it wasn’t as if he was paying any mind to any of them, however when he looked back, to see where everyone was, his eyes slid right past her without stopping. His unwarranted coldness towards her was perplexing and she found herself growing more annoyed by it at every turn.

_This_ Sesshomaru had shown that he had a slightly warmer personality buried underneath his cold exterior, and she couldn’t understand why he was being so standoffish with her even after he had told her that she had done nothing to offend him. So she set her mind to ignoring her discomfort and resolved that she would not give him another reason to treat her with disdain by slowing down their progress.

Around midday she was granted a reprieve.

“Sesshomaru, my feet hurt.” Complained Rin.

“You knew that we were going to be walking hard on this trip.” He told her, with a slight shrug of his shoulders. “We’re not stopping.”

“But we’ve been walking for _ages_ and I’m really tired and I’m also kind of thirsty.” She tugged on his sleeve. “Can we please stop for just a few minutes?” She begged.

“Rin, you are not eight any more, you need to stop acting like you are.” He told her sternly.

“I’m not acting like I’m eight!” She pouted, contradicting her words, “I just want to stop for a few minutes.”

Due to their dispute, the group had actually stopped walking. Kagome and Shippou shared a glance and both looked away smothering laughter.

Sesshomaru shook his head; Kagome could see his brow just barely furrowed in what she assumed was the Sesshomaru equivalent of a scowl. “Fine. A few minutes, then we get back on the road.”

Kagome let out a small sigh of relief and he glanced back, looking directly at her for the first time that day. Turning away from him, she headed off the path and into the shade of the forest.

“Hey!” Called Shippou from a little further in the woods, “I hear water this way. I think it’s the same river that runs by the village.”

They followed him, Rin ahead of Kagome, and Sesshomaru bringing up the rear. After a few minutes Kagome heard the rush of water up ahead and shortly after that, they reached the river. It was wider and faster in this spot than it was back at the village, but the same smooth, flat rocks lined the riverbank. Kagome sat on one of them and untied her sandals, wincing as she peeled the straw rope away from the chafed skin.

She dipped her feet into the cold water and sighed blissfully as her feet quickly went numb. She looked over at Shippou and Rin, who were splashing about in the water further down stream. Shippou’s transformation from a child to a teen was even more surprising than Rins’ growth. Rin was human, it was expected that humans would grow older and age at a normal rate, but Kagome had been under the impression that demons did not age the same way.

They remained by the riverbank for, by Kagome’s estimation, about half an hour.

“We have delayed our trip for long enough.” Said Sesshomaru, a hint of impatience creeping into his tone. Kagome cupped her hands, scooped up a handful of water, and drank it before bending down to tie her sandals back on. She grimaced when the straps settled back into place over the blisters, but she said nothing.

She pushed herself to her feet and suddenly there was nothing but pain. Her head felt like someone had cracked open her skull and was cramming in foreign information. Her mind raced so furiously that she felt dizzy and sick. She couldn’t keep up with the sudden flood of sensory input. She was vaguely aware of her body falling to the ground and her hands pressing against the sides of her head as if she were trying to close the imaginary hole that had been opened there.

Snippets of memory flashed before her eyes.

_Standing by a lake with Kikyou; they had been talking about Inuyasha._

_Shooting down a flying youkai and being grabbed around the waist by a strong, steely arm to prevent her from being crushed when the beast fell to earth._

_Kagome looking down at Rin, whose face was bloodied, blinking up at her as she knelt next to the girl’s prone form._

She passed out.

_My bed is moving around_. Was her first coherent thought; her second was: _Why is my mattress so hard and lumpy?_

Kagome slowly swam her way to wakefulness. Eyes still too heavy to open, she took a deep breath in. Whatever she was sleeping on smelled amazing; like the forest air just before a rainstorm. She tried to bury her face further into her pillow only to encounter two distinct sensations. The first was a silky softness and the second was a hard spike jabbing into her cheek.

“Ow.” She moaned, eyes fluttering open. For a few seconds she thought she had gone blind, but once she realized that her eyes were working just fine, she blinked. Confused, she tried to make sense of what she was seeing in front of her. White fluff. She raised her head only to find herself staring at the side of Sesshomaru’s face. She rapidly took inventory of the situation.

Night had fallen, but they were apparently still walking, their path illuminated by the glow of the nearly full moon above them. Sesshomaru was carrying her on his back, just like Inuyasha had done so many times before, and her head had been pillowed in the crook of his neck, resting on the fluffy pelt that he wore over his shoulder. The sharp jab that she had felt, therefore, had to be the armor underneath the pelt.

“Awake, miko?” He asked and she could feel his voice rumble through him, where her chest and stomach were pressed to his back.

“I… I think so.” She rasped. Her throat was dry and felt raw, as if she had been yelling. “What happened?”

“We were kinda hoping you could tell us that.” Said Shippou from somewhere to her right. “You collapsed and started screaming, and then you passed out. That was hours ago.”

Kagome tried to remember what had happened by the riverbank, and though she could still pick out a few individual memories, doing so felt like poking a fresh wound. She shook her head but the action made her head pound so she rested it on Sesshomaru’s shoulder again.

“We will stop soon.” He told her.

She nodded slightly, her nose brushing against his neck as she did so, and for a fraction of a second she thought that she felt his hands grip her legs just slightly tighter, though it was so fleeting that it could easily have been her imagination.

Her eyes felt heavy again and she felt them drifting shut. Somewhere ahead of them she could hear Rin talking to Shippou. Kagome couldn’t quite make out what she was saying, but from the tone of her voice she was fairly certain that she was complaining.

With her eyes shut, she began to sift slowly through the new memories that had appeared in her head. Most of them were fragmented snapshots; incomplete moments in time with little to no detail while a small handful of others were vivid and bursting with sensory information.

The most vivid of the memories was one of her and Kikyou standing by a lake. She remembered the arrival of that particular one from before she fainted. It floated through her head as she dozed on Sesshomaru’s shoulder.

_She wasn’t quite sure exactly when the scene had taken place, but it felt like an older memory. She and Kikyou stood side by side on the shore of a lake. The sun had just barely begun to crest over the horizon and it lent a pale, pearlescent cast to the sky. The lake had a thick cover of mist that hung over the water like a blanket. It was silent except for the quiet croaking of the frogs in the rushes that lined the waterline._

_The two women stood, looking at their joint reflection in the glassy water staring back at them._

_“Look.” Kikyou said softly, finally breaking the silence, as she gestured towards the image on the lakes’ surface, “We could be the same person, Kagome. In some ways, we already are.”_

_“I know.” She’d replied quietly. She had an idea of where this was going, but curiosity drover her to ask, “Why are you bringing this up now?”_

_“I bring it up because Inuyasha is going to have to choose soon. Me or you. And we both know that that choice will cause him immeasurable pain.” She looked at Kagome, her eye dark and inscrutable. “If there were a way to spare him that pain, would you take it?”_

_Kagome heard the alarm bells start to go off in her head. “And how would you propose to do that?”_

_“Give him up.” Kikyou’s voice was quiet, but to Kagome, the words rang loudly, rolling through the fog and echoing across the lake._

_“I can’t do that, Kikyou. You know that.” She looked out over the lake. “Could you give him up if I told you to?”_

_“I suppose not.” The elder miko brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “I will be with him in the end, though. Have no doubt about that fact.”_

_“That will be up to him, then, but I’m not just going to step aside and let you have him.” Kagome clenched her fists at her side. “I may not have died with him, but I have lived with him which is something that you can’t say.”_

_Kikyou turned away from Kagome and began to walk back towards the campsite. Then she stopped and looked back over he shoulder. “You will leave him to me. Of that I have no doubt.”_

The memory simply faded out after that point and no matter how hard she tried, she could not work past the pain in her head to see the rest of it.

“Wake up, Miko.” Sesshomaru’s voice rumbled through her again. She raised her head and looked around. The pain in her temples was mostly gone now and the action didn’t make her feel sick.

They were in a clearing in the forest, surrounded on all sides by tall trees and she could see Rin and Shippou already beginning to gather wood for a fire.

“Are you capable of standing on your own?” Asked Sesshomaru.

“Yeah, I should be ok. My head feels a lot better now.” She told him.

He let her down from his back then began to walk off. “This Sesshomaru will return shortly.”

“Where are you going?” Asked Rin, stacking firewood in a small pile in the center of the clearing.

“I assume you would all like to eat, so I am going hunting.” He said blandly looking over her shoulder, and then he tuned and vanished into the darkness.

Kagome stretched, feeling a couple of satisfactory pops as her back unkinked.

“Are you feeling better now, Kagome?” Rin asked from where she was pulling things out of the pack that she had been carrying.

“Yep.” She said, taking a seat next to the fire that Shippou had been hard at work building.

“Do you have any idea what happened to you?” Shippou queried.

“Actually I do. Since I came through the well I’ve been having flashes of memory from the other Kagome’s life here and every time I get one, it causes a headache. I had a whole bunch of them all at once, though earlier.” She frowned, staring at the fire. “I have no clue what triggered it though.”

“What do you remember now?” Asked Shippou.

“Not much that’s worth anything, actually. Most of the memories are just little snippets.” _I really don’t feel like talking about the ones that aren’t._ She forced a laugh, “Kind of unfortunate, really that I went through all that for memories of doing laundry, right?”

Shippou and Rin exchanged a glance.

Along with her conversation with Kikyou, she had become aware of two more new memories. The first was of being stuck in a small, dark cave, unable to find her way out. Even now she could feel her other self’s panic at the situation; it made her heart race with fear. The second memory was equally disturbing, but for a completely different reason; in that memory she was pressed tight against a very firm, male chest. A very _naked_ , firm male chest. She herself was not wearing much in the way of clothing either, though from what she could tell, she was still wearing her bra and panties. Kagome could feel the heat coming off of his body, soaking from his skin into hers. A warm hand spanned the back of her neck, holding her still.Worst of all though, was the fact that she had no idea who it was that she was snuggled up against so intimately.

_What on earth_ were _you doing?_ She’d asked her other self, desperately.

“Yeah… that’s too bad.” Said Shippou, as he leaned back against one of the trees.

Kagome nodded distractedly and she picked up a nearby stick to poke at the fire. She needed something to do to distract herself. The trio waited in relative silence for Sesshomaru to return. When he did, he carried with him a dead boar. Kagome’s eyes widened.

“That’s a lot of food for four people.” She told him.

He gave her bored look and said “Youkai eat a lot more than humans.”

There wasn’t much talking after that, except for the occasional idle comment of “pass that” or “you’re burning it” from Shippou and Rin.

Kagome’s body told her that she should be hungry, so she ate even though she had no desire to.

At one point she looked up and caught Sesshomaru staring at her from across the fire. His eyes, like those of a cat, reflected the light and the effect was rather unsettling. She raised her eyebrows at him, but he said nothing and continued to watch her. He was inscrutable as always and the look he gave her left her bewildered; she couldn’t tell what was going on inside his head. She felt color and warmth creeping into the skin of her chest and face as he stared, and she looked away. After a few more seconds, he focused his attention elsewhere as well.

After they had finished eating, the party settled down for the night. Rin slept underneath the spare kimono she had brought, while Shippou sprawled out on the ground nearby, tail twitching slightly as he snored. Sesshomaru propped himself against a tree, however she doubted that he would actually sleep. Kagome curled herself into a ball, pillowing her head on her folded hands and wished that her backpack had survived the trip through the well; she would have given anything for her sleeping bag. The night only grew colder as it wore on and eventually she began to shiver in her sleep. Then suddenly she was draped with warmth. In her dream she felt someone tucking a blanket in around her and she let out a happy sigh.

The next morning, when the light began to filter through the trees, she scrunched up her still closed eyes and burrowed further into her blankets, willing the sun to go away. Suddenly her brain was wide-awake. She didn’t have a blanket here. Her eyes shot open and her jaw dropped. _Sesshomaru had draped his pelt over her_. Cautiously she peeked over the edge of it, but he had returned to his spot by the tree and was not looking in her direction at all.

Slowly, Kagome sat up and wiped the sleep out of her eyes. Rin and Shippou were still sound asleep, and it made her smile to see that they had rolled closer together during the night and were now sleeping back to back. She stood, yawning, and gathered up Sesshomaru’s pelt into her arms. Crossing the clearing, she stopped before him and held it out.

“Thank you.” She whispered- so as not to wake the other two- with a smile. He took it and draped it over his shoulders again, and he merely inclined his head slightly but said nothing in reply.

After a few minutes of standing awkwardly in front of him, she gather up her courage and took a seat beside him. He looked at her strangely for a moment, and then turned away.

As they sat there, watching the sunrise, Kagome felt more confused than ever.


	4. The Rip

As soon as Shippou and Rin had woken up and everyone had gotten situated and prepared for the day, the trek began anew. The minute the others had returned to consciousness Sesshomaru had become his usual disinterested and cold self again; he completely ignored Kagome and instead focused his energy on watching the path ahead of them for any signs of danger.

She scowled at his back, ire rising inside of her.

 _Just who does he think he is?_ Kagome griped silently. His unpredictable behavior was beginning to wear on her to the point that she almost missed the Sesshomaru form her world. At least _that_ Sesshomaru had been consistently cold and uncaring, while _this_ one just left her horribly off balance.  

“Kagome?” Said Rin, who was walking to Kagome’s left.

“Yes?” She answered, forcing herself not to sound as peeved as she was.

“Why are you glaring at Sesshomaru?” She blinked up at Kagome, her blue eyes wide and innocent.

Though he showed no sign of it, Kagome was positive that he was listening.

“Because he’s bothering me.” She told Rin, not bothering to lower her voice all that much.

“But he’s not even paying any attention to you at all!” Rin exclaimed.

“Exactly. It’s _bothersome_ when one of your traveling companions spends most of the trip pretending you don’t exist.”

She couldn’t be sure, but it seemed that Sesshomaru picked up the pace significantly after that point. _Who knew he was the passive aggressive type,_ she mused as she gritted her teeth, enduring all of her small discomforts in silence. The hardest things to ignore were the blisters on her ankles. They had worsened overnight and were now so tender that the ties of her sandals rubbing against them felt like someone was holding a flame to her skin. Again, she resolved to say nothing. The path they were walking on continued to run parallel to the river and occasionally it would come close enough that they could hear the water rushing along.

Around midday Rin began her complaining and she badgered Sesshomaru into letting them stop by the river for a small break again. Kagome was wary about sitting down at the river again, even though realistically she knew that the probability of a connection between her memory overload and sitting by the water was slim to none. Instead she took off her sandals and waded into the water a short way downstream from the two younger members of their party, mostly to avoid getting caught in the middle of their silly little splash war.

Though Shippou looked around sixteen years old physically, he seemed to be slightly more mature than Rin most of the time- excluding, of course, any times when he got near the water. Kagome suspected that their relative levels of maturity had a great deal to do with the fact that while Rin had been dragged all across Japan by Sesshomaru, he had in his own way coddled her, while Shippou on the other hand had spent most of his childhood facing the harsher realities of life on the front lines of a very tense and dangerous war. She could see them somehow meeting in the middle in terms of age and maturity and the idea of the two of them together made her smile.

She splashed a little water on her face, feeling it cool the slight sunburn that she had developed the day before, and sighed with happiness.  As she was straightening back up, a shadow fell over her, blocking out the daylight. She looked upwards to find Sesshomaru standing over her.

His eyes were liquid gold, somehow holding a light of their own, even in the shadow of his face. He was looking at her like he had the night before, from across the fire. Up close, that look was a hundred times more concentrated. Her mouth was suddenly dry as the Sahara Desert and her heart skipped a beat.

“So. You find the fact that this Sesshomaru is not paying attention to you to be ‘ _bothersome_ ’.” He said silkily.

“I- I didn’t say that.” He was standing on the riverbank, close enough to her that if she wished, she could reach out and touch him. His youki pressed against her like a physical force. The intensity of his presence in that moment was so great that her brain was having a hard time functioning properly.

“I believe you did, miko, and none too quietly if I do recall correctly. So,” he said, as he reached out, lifted a loose curl of her hair away from her shoulder, and ran his thumb over the captured lock “is this enough attention for you?”

“Uh…” Her mouth opened slightly and she was fairly certain that she was wearing an extremely unbecoming “fish out of water” look on her face. The ‘Sesshomaru with a sense of humor’ was back with a vengeance. The corner of his lip lifted, just barely, flashing the smallest hint of a fang at her; the bastard was _smirking_ at her.

She snapped her mouth shut with an audible click, and backed a step away, frowning at him. “I just meant that it would be nice if you stopped ignoring me half the time. And nicer still if you could stop treating me like I’ve done something wrong when you actually _do_ deign to talk to me.”

“Are you sure that that is all you desire, miko?” His voice was pitched so low that she could barely hear it and she shivered slightly.

“Yes.” She said, in what she hoped was a convincing manner.

“Hn. Be careful what you ask for.” He replied, voice returning to a more normal tone. Then he turned and walked away. Kagome stared after him for a few seconds, trying to make sense of what had just taken place. She found that she could not. Now that Sesshomaru was no longer occupying all of her senses she was struck by how quiet it had become and she glanced over to where Rin and Shippou had been playing. The two of them were standing, staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed at her. They turned away quickly when she raised an eyebrow at them.

When they got back on the road Kagome was relieved to find that they were traveling at a much more reasonable pace than they had been before the break. Neither Shippou nor Rin said anything too her, but the two of them had become oddly quiet and they kept giving her funny looks and whispering to each other.

Finally she’d had enough.

“ _What_ ,” she asked slightly more testily than she meant to, “are you two whispering about back there?”

“Nothing!” They replied at the same time. She heard a soft huff come from Sesshomaru’s direction; apparently he thought this whole thing was amusing. At that moment she really hated ‘Sesshomaru with a sense of humor’.

The whispering ceased after that.

Kagome experienced several more of her memory flashes throughout the day, but they were mostly mundane things; small, unimportant battles with minor youkai, helping tend to wounded soldiers in a village, arguing with Inuyasha about nothing of any real substance. She wished that she could stop having the flashes; as far as she was concerned, the memories that she was gaining were not worth the headaches.

They walked on until after the sun had set. Again they made camp in the forest, while Sesshomaru hunted for their dinner. Rin and Kagome cooked the rabbits that he brought back over the fire that Shippou had built.

Shippou and Rin dropped off to sleep fairly quickly and Kagome noticed that Shippou had gone to sleep closer to Rin than he had the night before. She shook her head with a small grin. He could deny it all that he wanted, but Shippou was obviously crazy about Rin.

As Kagome was settling herself down she heard footsteps approaching her. Opening her eyes, she came face to face with Sesshomaru’s boots. Then he knelt and draped his pelt over her. She looked up and met his eyes; they were not burning hot like they had been earlier, they were more or less within the normal spectrum of Sesshomaru expressions that she had come to expect.

“Sleep, miko.” He told her in a quiet voice. Then he stood and walked over to a tree, where he situated himself for the night.

Kagome wrapped herself in the pelt as she tried to wrap her head around Sesshomaru’s odd behavior.

 _If I didn’t know better, I’d say that he’s messing with my head!_ She thought, _I never know what to expect with him; maybe he’s doing this on purpose, to throw me off kilter. But if that’s the case, then_ why _is he doing it? Maybe he’s just being a jerk… but then why would he give me his pelt?_ Her thoughts chased each other in circles inside her mind until she fell into an uneasy sleep.

Kagome dreamed.

_She was sitting in the unknown mans lap, pressed tight against him. He was leaning against the wall of a cave they were both soaking wet, she realized. While his skin was hot like a furnace, the air around them was chilly. She snuggled closer to the man and he gave a small grunt of discomfort. She apologized quickly; she hadn’t meant to aggravate the wound in his side. She knew why his temperature was so high; the wound was poisoned and his body was trying to burn if off. She went still so as not to cause any more irritation to him._

_His right hand, the one resting on the back of her neck, tucked her head underneath his chin, pressing the side of her face against his neck. She breathed a sigh, and she could hear his pulse speed up, just slightly, next to her ear. His other hand came around her, pulling her closer to him. The second hand rested on her left calf and the thumb brushed slowly against her skin, raising goosebumps in its wake._

_Her eyes fluttered shut, eyelashes ghosting across the skin of his throat like butterfly wings. The man made another noise; this one was closer to a rumble of pleasure, which she felt vibrating through his chest._

The dying fire gave an especially loud pop and her eyes snapped open, as she was jarred out of her dream. It’s abrupt departure left her feeling strangely bereft and she drew Sesshomaru’s pelt in closer, to fight of the nighttime chill. There was a familiarity to the images that she had been seeing, something that made her wonder if perhaps it was not simply a dream, but instead another memory fragment. Exhaustion claimed her before she could puzzle it out much further and she drifted back into slumber once more.

The rest of her night was dreamless and dark.

~

Their days quickly fell into a routine; they would wake up, eat whatever remained from dinner the night before, take care of their necessary business, and then head off down the road. Sometime around the middle of the day Rin would pester Sesshomaru and they would stop for a little while before continuing on. They would walk until after nightfall. When they made camp for the evening, Shippou made the fire, Sesshomaru hunted, and Rin and Kagome cooked. Then when it came time to sleep, Shippou and Rin would curl up near each other and once they were asleep, Sesshomaru would tuck his pelt around Kagome, always with the same words: “Sleep, miko”.

Throughout the entire time, Sesshomaru’s personality remained as enigmatic and mercurial as ever. Most of the time he was fairly normal- detached and filled with disinterest, but every once in a while he would turn his eyes on her and they would be burning like hot coals. When that happened, he would usually get into her personal space and _tease_ her. She couldn’t think of any other way to describe his behavior at those times.

Then one day, everything changed.

Three days back, they had come to a fork in the road and had taken the path that lead to the right, and away from the river. They were walking straight through the forest now, and the going was beginning to get rougher as the path began to head upwards as they approached the foothills of the mountains. And the day before, they had stopped in a surprisingly large village that they had come across where, much to her shock and Rin’s delight, Sesshomaru had purchased the girls a pair of warm winter kimono. And he’d bought Kagome a pair of tabi socks. She could have cried with joy when she slipped them on; her poor abused feet and ankles were now protected from the cold and the straps were no longer aggravating that skin on the backs of her ankles. When she’d thanked him and asked him how he knew she needed the tabi, he’d simply replied, eyes gleaming, “This Sesshomaru is paying attention to you”. She’d blushed; he was beginning to evoke that reaction in her a lot these days.

That morning the day dawned bright and cold and Kagome could see her breath as a fine mist in the air every time she exhaled. She drew her kimono in tighter around herself. When she had awoken that morning she had felt a sense of apprehension creeping over her; she had a bad feeling in her gut. For the first half of the day she was jumpy and on edge to the point that Shippou picked up on it and asked her if she was alright.

“I’m fine,” She said, though her brow was furrowed and her eyes were roving over the scenery around them, “Something just feels _wrong_ right now, I’m not sure why. I’m probably just being paranoid.”

Not more than five minutes after that, Kagome’s eyes widened as she felt a tremendous flare of a familiar, horrifically malevolent youki blast through the air around them. It was so strong that she felt her body beginning to rebel to its very presence. The whole group came to an abrupt stop; even Rin, who had no spiritual powers whatsoever, had felt the burst. Then just as suddenly as it had arrived, it was gone. Sesshomaru and Kagome met each other’s eyes, and then simultaneously readied their weapons; Kagome slid her bow off of her shoulder, where it had rested and she knocked an arrow and Sesshomaru drew Bakusaiga. She, Sesshomaru, and Shippou strained all of their senses, searching the area around them for danger.

And then, there it was. A trio of black shapes appeared in the sky above them, and then, as one, then descended. The youkai were massive and vaguely humanoid; there was one male and two females. Their bodies were covered with black scales that glittered in the light, great, leathery black wings sprouted from their backs and both their fingers and their strange, birdlike feet ended in tremendous, wicked talons. It was their faces that were truly terrifying, though. Their mouths were wide slashes that gaped open, displaying multiple rows of sharp teeth, similar to those of a shark. Glowing green eyes with slit pupils were set high up on their heads. The male gave a roar and slashed at Sesshomaru, while the females dove after Kagome and Rin, ignoring Shippou completely.

Kagome fired her arrow at the youkai approaching her and watched horrified as the creature slipped out of the line of fire in a split second. Kagome scrambled to get another arrow, but the youkai had reached her, and she plowed right into Kagome, knocking her off her feet and into the ground. The youkai’s claws raked her, slicing through her kimono and the skin underneath. She knew that she hadn’t been cut that badly, but the lacerations stung fiercely. She let out a cry of pain and shoved the youkai off of her. Kagome stood and watched the demon launch herself back into the air, preparing for a second strike.

She came in fast and hard, and Kagome barely had any time to throw her arms up to protect her face before the impact. But as soon as the creature’s claws closed around her wrists, Kagome felt something hot come rushing through her veins. It was similar to the feeling that she got when she poured her miko powers into an object, but this time it was so acute that it took her breath away. And then she realized what was happening; before her eyes, her body had begun to glow with a pale pink light. She was filling her _body_ with power. The youkai shrieked and tried to pull away, but she wasn’t fast enough. The pink glow intensified into a blinding light until Kagome was burning like a flame and the unfortunate youkai was caught, unable to do anything other than flap helplessly in the air, trying to get away from the purifying blaze. Within seconds, the pink light enveloped the youkai and she burst into pieces.

Looking up, Kagome saw Sesshomaru had his hands full battling the male, who appeared to have significantly more power than the females; he was spitting bolts of crackling energy at Sesshomaru in rapid succession. Shippou was doing his best to ward off the other female, who was still intent on getting to Rin, but as she watched, the youkai grabbed a hold of him and threw him back, slamming him into a tree. Then she advanced on Rin, who turned and ran. Sesshomaru finally dispatched his enemy and spun to face the remaining youkai just in time to see her claws rake from the base of Rin’s back, all the way to her shoulders. Rin collapsed to the ground with a scream of agony.

And Sesshomaru went berserk.

Red bled into his eyes as the stripes on his face stretched and elongated, and with a snarl of rage, he transformed into his true form and went after the youkai who tried her best to escape, but was far too slow. Sesshomaru’s massive jaws clamped down on her and he proceeded to rip her to shreds. For a few seconds Kgome watched in horrified fascination; she had seen Sesshomaru vaguely angry before, but never had she seen this level of intense anger. She snapped herself out of her shocked state and ran to Rin, who lay, not moving, in the dirt.

At first Kagome was afraid that she was dead, but when she got close to her, she could tell that Rin was simply unconscious, but badly injured. Kagome could see the long furrows in her back where the youkai’s talons had caught her. They weren’t too deep nor had they done any damage to her spine, thankfully, but they were still bleeding and needed badly to be tended to. Kagome scrambled over to the back that Rin had dropped in the dirt during the fight, and tore it open. She rummaged around inside it until she found what she was looking for: a length of bandage. The cuts needed to be stitched, but Kagome couldn’t risk sewing them up without cleaning them first. So she stripped the top half of Rin’s ruined Kimono off and began wrapping the bandages around her.

A shadow fell over them and Kagome felt Sesshomaru’s youki swirling around like an ocean.

“She’s hurt pretty badly, but she’ll be ok as long as we can get her to a village soon. She needs proper medical care, these bandages won’t be enough.” Kagome told him.

“But she will live?” He asked. He sounded cold and composed again, it was disconcerting to hear after watching him explode with rage not ten minutes before. She met his eyes, but it was like looking at a mask; there was not even the usual bored expression that he wore. He was completely blank. She shivered slightly.

“Yes, but as I _just said_ , we really need to get her to a village. Where’s the nearest one and how soon can we get there?”

“There is a village to the north of here. If I were to transport us there it would take no time at all.” He said, “I will rouse the kitsune and we shall depart as soon as you have finished bandaging Rin.”

Once Rin was bandaged, Kagome gathered her bow and scattered arrows as well as Rin’s pack, and then walked over to where Sesshomaru stood, cradling Rin in his arms. Shippou was standing slightly behind him, pressing his hand over a long gash in his forehead.

“Come.” The taiyoukai said and Kagome took another few steps closer to him. Then suddenly they were enveloped in a ball of golden light. She didn’t even have time to wonder what was going on before she felt them begin to move, and then just as suddenly the light faded and they were standing on a hilltop outside a village.

As soon as they reached the main row of huts, several of the villagers began to crowd around them asking questions.

“Are you youkai?”

“What are you doing with that child?”

“Have you come to kill us?”

“What do you want here?”

“We need a healer.” Said Kagome, completely ignoring the chatter around her, “And fast! This girl was badly injured and if she doesn’t get help soon she could die!”

Her words sparked the several of the villagers into action, though a few still remained by the side of the path, muttering amongst themselves.

Within a few minutes a child came running towards them and said, panting, “Lady Saku says you should come to her hut.”

The boy led them through the village to the entrance to a hut, in front of which stood a middle-aged woman dressed in miko’s clothing with iron-grey hair and a determined set to her jaw.

“Is this the child?” She asked, without even bothering to introduce herself.

Kagome nodded. “A youkai attacked her and her back is badly cut up. I couldn’t do anything other than bandage her, but the wounds need to be stitched.”

The miko, presumably Saku, nodded at Kagome and then gestured for the trio to come into the hut.

“Lay her on that pallet, on her stomach.” She instructed Sesshomaru, who complied silently.

Saku turned to Kagome. “Girl, you wear the clothes of a miko underneath that kimono. Are you trained in healing?”

“Somewhat.” Answer Kagome truthfully.

“Fair enough. You will assist me.” She turned to Shippou and Sesshomaru who were standing in the front of the hut. “You two get out of here, we will let you know when we have finished.”

The fact that Sesshomaru complied with Saku’s order without question dumbfounded Kagome. _This must be affecting him even more than I thought…_

It took Saku and Kagome close to three hours to clean and stitch all six of the furrows in Rin’s back and then bandage her to Saku’s satisfaction.

When she left the hut to go wash off all the blood that now covered her body, Kagome nearly tripped over Sesshomaru, who was sitting directly outside the door. Shippou sat beside him and when they saw her, they both looked up.

“Rin’s still unconscious, but she’ll be okay. Saku says that once her body gets over the shock of her injuries, she should wake up.” She told them. Shippou breathed a sigh of relief, but Sesshomaru said nothing in reply.

Saku had told her where to find the hot spring that sat near the village, and tired as she was, Kagome could not resist the siren song of hot water. She borrowed a second miko uniform from Saku and walked down to the hot spring. She stripped quickly in the chilly air and gave a gasp of pain as her top- which was sticking to the shallow cuts along her ribcage thanks to all the dried blood- ripped free from the injuries, reopening them.

She slid into the water and her eyes stung as it touched the wounds. She hadn’t noticed how deep the cuts were adrenaline kept her focused on Rin and then her dark red winter kimono had not shown the stain of her blood seeping through. The cuts probably needed to be stitched up, or at least bandaged; the skin around the lacerations was already looking red and angry.

After she had soaked herself sufficiently, she climbed out and hurriedly dried herself with her old hakama before donning the new one, then she wrapped the winter kimono back around herself; she didn’t want to put the pristine white miko’s kimono on until she had bandaged her injuries. There was no point in ruining another one.

She hurried back to the hut, shivering as her wet hair sapped the heat from her body.

“Um… Saku?” She said as she sat down by the fire, “Can I have another roll of bandages?”

“Whatever for?” The miko asked, incredulously.

“I got cut up a bit in the fight. It’s not too bad, but I don’t want to get any more blood on anything.” Saku smacked Kagome’s shoulder with the fan that she had been using to build the fire.

“Ow! What was that for?” Cried Kagome, rubbing her abused shoulder.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” She snapped, “What if your injury had been worse and you had fainted due to blood loss? When you are dealing with shock and fear you can never be too careful! Honestly! Where is your common sense?”

“I-” Kagome began.

“Be quiet and show my the injury.” Said Saku as she collected a roll of bandages and more of the paste that they had spread on Rin’s wounds before bandaging her.

Kagome sat before the fire and opened the front of her Kimono, covering her breasts with one arm, in case someone should come in the door.

Saku examine the wound and muttered disapprovingly to herself, before spearing some of the paste on Kagome and then wrapping her with a bandage.

“They look worse than they are. They don’t need stitches but you’ll need to be careful for the next week or so. And keep them clean, if they get infected you could have serious problems.” She admonished.

That night they stayed in Saku’s hut. Even though Kagome was warm and had a flat surface to sleep on, instead of the lumpy forest floor, she found that she was not comfortable. It was not until sometime in the middle of the night, when Sesshomaru came over, wrapped his pelt around her, and told her to sleep, that she actually began to feel her eyes grow heavy.

 _When did that become so important to me? Why did that become so important to me?_ She wondered. All she knew was that it felt strangely right.

Kagome did not miss Saku’s inquisitive look when she handed Sesshomaru his pelt back in the morning. She had to be wondering what exactly the nature of their relationship was. Kagome sighed; she spent a good deal of time wondering about that herself.


	5. World On Fire

By the time Rin finally regained consciousness on their second day in the village, the sun was already high in the sky, though it’s rays did little to dissipate the cold that seemed to have settled in the air. It appeared that the first few days of warm weather had been both a product of good fortune and the lower altitude. Now that they were entering the mountains, the temperature was only bound to drop further.

Kagome was wearing the miko’s kimono and hakama that she had borrowed from Saku and over top of that, she had layered her winter kimono. She had tucked her hands into the large sleeves in an attempt to shield them from the frigid air, but the air inside the fabric wasn’t much warmer. She stomped her feet on the ground and rubbed her arms vigorously, wishing for a kotatsu for the hundredth time that day.

She, Shippou, and Sesshomaru stood outside the hut, waiting for Saku to tell them it was permissable for them to come in again. Despite the fact that Kagome had helped her tend to Rin the day before, the older miko had insisted on speaking to the younger woman on her own, to ascertain for certain that her wounds had not been inflicted by her youkai companions. Her breath condensed in the air and she watched the tiny cloud drift off into the air.

Sesshomaru was turned slightly away from her, staring off over the rooftops at the mountains beyond them. They were still in the foothills and the larger peaks were at least another four or five day’s journey at a normal speed, and chances were it was going to be at least twice that long with an injured Rin along. Suddenly a thought occurred to her.

“Hey, Sesshomaru...” She began.

He turned away from the mountains and looked down at her.

“How come we’ve been walking for the last few weeks if you could travel in that light bubble the whole time?” She asked. _If he’s just been holding out because he didn’t feel like using it, I’m going to purify him._

“It is not the most expedient method of travel for more than one passenger for any great length of time.” He replied in a toneless, disinterested voice.

“How so? It seemed pretty good to me, yesterday.” The wind blew her bangs into her eyes and she brushed them away. She grimaced when she realized that she could no longer feel her face. Or her fingers.

“We were traveling a relatively short distance. Had we been going much farther than that, you would have undoubtedly felt the need to move about- most beings are incapable of standing still for any length of time- and had you done so, you would have fallen out of the sky.” He said blandly; emotionless Sesshomaru was back in full force.

“I guess that makes sense.” She worried her lower lip between her teeth. The anxiety level of the whole ordeal had just skyrocketed with the attack. The longer she spent in the Sengoku Jidai, the longer he family was back in the modern era, completely unequipped to fight off the sudden swarm of youkai. A week had passed since she left. Seven days. Kagome bit down harder on her lip; if her family was still holding out against the youkai onslaught, they were probably convinced that she was dead. If not…

_No, don’t even think about it, Kagome._

“Guys, I’d been meaning to ask,” Shippou began, brows furrowed, “you both felt the youki before the attack, right? Do you think the Well Youkai was looking for us? And that when it found us, it sent those youkai to try to kill us?”

That gave Kagome pause; she had known, thanks to Sesshomaru that the Well Youkai was flinging powerful youkai into the western lands, but the fact that they had felt it’s power seconds before several of the aforementioned youkai attacked them… it did not feel like a coincidence.

“This Sesshomaru suspects that this Youkai is not terribly intelligent, however it is incredibly powerful and seems to be intent on eliminating us. The question remains though, how it found us beyond the miko’s barrier.”

Kagome’s stomach gave a lurch. She had forgotten that Kikyou and Inuyasha were acting as the first line of defense against the youkai while she and the others traveled. If anything had happened to them…

The bamboo curtain that hung in the door of the hut rustled and Saku stuck her head out.

“The girl has convinced me that no harm came to her due to you,” She looked pointedly at Sesshomaru and Shippou, “so you may come back in if you wish.”

Kagome barely waited for her to finish speaking before she dashed back into the hut. The air was much warmer within the structure, though a gust of cold blew in when Sesshomaru and Shippou followed her in.

Rin was sitting up, looking very pale, but she was drinking the broth in the bowl that Saku had handed to her.

“How are you feeling?” Asked Shippou, as he hurried over to her. Kagome, who had been preparing to ask the same question, shut her mouth.

“My back hurts.” She said, in a very matter-of-fact way, “But the salve that Lady Saku put on the wounds is helping a lot.”

“That’s good!” Shippou’s smile was over-bright and though he was sitting, he somehow managed to give off the effect that he was hovering around her, unsure of what he should be doing to make everything better for her. For a brief flash of a second, Kagome felt jealousy scorch through her veins; she had _never_ had anyone behave that way around her, when she was injured, with the exception of her mother.

She quickly tramped down the feeling. _What kind of woman am I that I would be thinking selfish thought like that at a time like this?_

She looked around the rest of the hut and to her great surprise, she saw that Sesshomaru had begun to converse quietly with Saku, who was nodding in agreement. Feeling useless when it came to helping Rin, and nosey when it came to watching Sesshomaru, Kagome sat down by the fire and held her hands out, enduring the painful pins and needles that began to run through her thawing body.

Her head throbbed once and an image passed through her mind; a recollection of another fire. There was almost no detail to this fragment of memory, but she could feel a sense of critical importance from it and instinctively she knew that whatever had taken place beside that fire had changed her other self’s life. For a few seconds she felt like a stranger in her own body. It was akin to coming home, only to find that all of her furniture had been rearranged while she was away. Again she heard the rustle of the bamboo curtain and turned just in time to see Sesshomaru leaving the hut.

Saku stood silently, a small frown on her face, in the same place where she had been talking to him just seconds before.

“Girl,” She said, putting her hands on her hips, looking Kagome in the eye, “go after him.”

Kagome looked back at Rin and Shippou, who were huddled together, talking quietly. “But-”

Saku cut her off. “I can take care of these two, besides, they would not notice if the hut evaporated. Your taiyoukai needs you.”

Kagome’s eyes widened and she blushed as she climbed to her feet. “He’s not mine.”

“Humph.” Saku snorted inelegantly, “Don’t be absurd. But now is not the time to argue about this. He is experiencing a great deal of guilt at this particular moment, though I do not believe he knows that himself, and he should not be alone.”

“I’ll go after him, but I don’t think he’s really that much of a danger to himself.” She told the older miko, as she wrapped her kimono around her more tightly.

“ _He_ is not my concern; I am worried that should one of the villagers bother him, that he would simply slaughter them. Now go.” And with that, Saku opened the bamboo curtain and pushed Kagome through the door.

Kagome sent her aura out over the village, searching for the familiar youki of her traveling companion. She found him heading towards the forest. And took off after him at a run. She gasped when the sudden movement pulled at the cuts on her chest and she felt at least one of them reopen. _At least they’re bandaged,_ she thought, _so I won’t get blood all over Saku’s clothing too._

She caught up to him just past the edge of the village. He said nothing as she fell into step by his side and together the two of them walked into the dense forest. Here the trees had begun to change from deciduous to evergreen and the air smelled strongly of pine.

They walked in silence for well over an hour, not going anywhere in particular, just wandering through the silent trees. Then without warning, she tripped over a hidden dip in the forest floor and gasped as she felt the other gash rip open too. She pressed a hand to her ribcage. Sesshomaru stopped and stood still, sniffing the air.

“You were injured in the fight.” Sesshomaru said, as he stopped and turned to look at her. His voice was so low that she had to strain to hear it.

“Yeah, but it’s ok. Saku bandaged them and I’ll be fine in a couple days.” She gestured with the hand that wasn’t pressed to her chest, as if clearing the topic from the conversation.

“I did not notice.” She met his eyes, which were shuttered. Then she saw it, what Saku had seen and what she had been picking up slightly since that morning; he wasn’t just being his usual cold, reticent self, he was completely shut off. The usual minor changes in emotion that flickered across his face, despite his best efforts to suppress them were gone.

“It’s fine, you were focused on Rin. We all were.” She hadn’t even thought to be bothered by the fact that he had not asked after her health, not when the girl who was as good as his daughter was so gravely injured. Even later on when he hadn’t commented, she had just assumed that he knew she was fine and didn’t feel like bothering with talking.

“When this Sesshomaru agreed to bring you along on this journey, the kitsune questioned my ability to keep you from coming to any harm and I gave my word that I would let nothing happen to you.” Again his voice was almost too low to hear, “I was unable to keep my word.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Sesshomaru! I’m a warrior; I don’t need to be protected! Besides, this is just a couple of scratches, it’s nothing!” She snapped, throwing her hands up in exasperation. This could not be happening; _Sesshomaru_ was _guilt-tripping_ himself.

 “It is not ‘ridiculous’, miko, nor is it ‘nothing’ for one to fail to keep their word.” There was a growl in his voice, “Particularly if the individual who is hurt by this those failings is someone to whom I owe a great debt.” Emotions were starting to creep back into his eyes. A tiny spark burned deep within them, slowly growing brighter.

“You… you owe me a debt?” She stammered, astonished.

“Perhaps not you, personally, however I gave my word to the you who I knew, that I would grant her my aid and protection whenever she should need it.”

“What did I- she do?” Kagome asked. _What could I have possibly done to warrant that sort of loyalty from Sesshomaru?_

“She saved Rin’s life. And now _you_ have done the same thing. And this time you saved her life when I was _right there_ and still let her be hurt.” The spark was an ember now.

“No, I didn’t do anything. Saku was the one who stitched her up, and made the salve, and-” She was babbling and he cut her off.

“While I was still releasing a flash of rage upon a _deceased_ foe, you were bandaging her up so that she would not bleed out on the dirt.” The intensity in his voice was frightening and Kagome took an involuntary step away from him.

“I-”

He took a step forward and it brought them nearly toe-to-toe. She looked up at him and her breath caught in her throat. She had seen his eyes flickering with heat before, usually when he was amusing himself by tormenting her but she had never seen them like this before. His eyes were _blazing_. Her heart was beating to fast and her mouth was dry.

He took her chin in one hand and tilted her head back a little further. She could feel his eyes like the sun on her face as he stared down at her.

“This Sesshomaru owes you that debt two times over now.” A flash of something hot and electric sizzled through her and her tongue darted out to moisten her lips. His eyes caught on that action and she watched them darken, even as the heat within them intensified. “I did not keep my word properly the first time around. That will _never_ happen again.”

Her eyes were wide with a myriad of emotions and her brain had long ago ceased to function properly. His second hand came up and he held her face delicately between his hands. Slowly one of his clawed thumbs brushed across her cheekbone, sending shivers throughout her body that had nothing to do with the cold; in fact she had forgotten long ago that she was frozen by the icy air. All she knew, all she could feel was Sesshomaru; he dominated her senses with his very presence.

His youki flared against her, but it was a different experience from when she brushed against the auras of most youkai; his aura was not polluted and tainted by the demonic evil and malevolent hatred. That was not to say that his youki was gentle. Not even close. There was a wealth of violence that was restrained under an iron will. However more than the violence was a fierce strength and possessiveness that manifested itself as an almost covetous feeling. And that part of his aura was currently reaching out towards her, as if trying to gauge her shape, size, and feel so that it would recognize her for the rest of eternity. It ran against her like a physical thing, sinking through her clothing to her naked skin and it tingled where it touched.

He brushed his thumb across her face again and her eyes fluttered; she was drowning in _this_ , whatever it was.

“You have the most solemn word of this Sesshomaru, miko,” he told her and his breath drifted across her face, “Never again will harm befall you.”

The thumb that had been stroking her cheek brushed gently across her much abused lower lip and her impossibly wide eyes, widened even further. His digit stilled and it was as if they were frozen in a splinter of time, locked in place together in that moment. For a second she thought he was going to kiss her, but then he pulled away and the cold rushed back in.

_What just happened here?_ Her mind reeled; Sesshomaru had nearly kissed her. And she felt horribly upset that he hadn’t.

“We should return to the village. We will be leaving tomorrow morning.” He said as he turned and started back through the forest.

“So soon?” She managed to get out. “Isn’t it too soon, with Rin’s injuries?”

“Rin and Shippou will not being coming with us. Saku has agreed to watch over them until we return. It is too dangerous for Rin to be on this journey and this Sesshomaru will not leave her by herself in a village full of strangers.”

That made sense, but Kagome still felt a lurch in her stomach at the thought of traveling alone with Sesshomaru, especially after what had just taken place.

She hurried her steps so as not to be left behind. As she caught up to him, he noticed her hugging herself in an attempt to ward off the cold and he sighed then unwound his pelt and draped it around her shoulders. It was so lengthy and _fluffy_ that it nearly swallowed her whole and she had to stop for a few seconds to get it situated in such a way that she would actually see around it. When she started walking again she noticed that he had been waiting for her and her heart warmed.

_Oh no, no, no,_ She said to herself, _you cannot even think about falling for Sesshomaru. Those are the_ last _things you need right now; another complication and a good chance of a broken heart._

She couldn’t help the fact that a small flock of butterflies had suddenly taken up residence in the general vicinity of her stomach.

Kagome got a lot of odd stares and saw more than a few whispered conversations by the villagers who stared at them as the passed. But none of those looks infuriated her as much as the one that Saku was wearing when she me them in front of her hut.

“I’m glad you found him. Dinner is served.” Startled, Kagome looked up at the sky and noticed that the sun was indeed setting. Somehow the passage of time had completely bypassed her completely. She and Sesshomaru followed Saku into the hut and her heart melted a little when she saw Shippou, who was sitting against the wall, where he had fallen asleep, still holding onto Rin’s hand.

“Have you told them yet?” Kagome asked Saku.

She shook her head. “No, we can tell them in the morning. I did not want to agitate them, just when they finally settled down.” She shook her head at the two sleeping teens. “I tried to get the kitsune to leave her be for a few hours so she could rest and they both got so upset at the suggestion, you’d think that I had told them they were being separated for life.”

She looked at Kagome, who was still draped in Sesshomaru’s pelt. “I don’t think either one of them realized how in love they are with each other. If they’re smart, they’ll figure it out.” Her eyes took on an almost humorous cast and Kagome shot her a glare.

“They’re still young.” She sniffed, pointedly looking off into the corner of the hut and _not_ at Saku. “They have plenty of time.” She unwrapped the pelt from her body and draped it over Shesshomaru who has sitting, cross-legged by the fire. He nodded almost imperceptibly in thanks and re-aranged it so that it laid properly around his body.

“Humph.” Said Saku as she busied herself with serving the food.

She ate silently, mulling over the events of the last few weeks in her head, trying to figure out the strange turn that her life had taken.  She still had the distinct sensation that her life had become a large puzzle and she was missing most of the pieces. Her head throbbed, as if in response to her line of thinking, and another useless memory- this time it was one of her practicing archery against a tree -drifted through her head.

_Thanks. I really needed that. Could you just stop sending me these?_ She muttered silently. A second throb and a second, even more useless memory were the only reply that she got- this time she was watching a stream.

“Girl.” Saku snapped her fingers to get Kagome’s attention. “Stop staring off into space. After dinner, you will help me clean up and I will see if I can’t give you some more training with medicine. It’s hard with so little time, but it’s important for you to know.”

“Oh, thank you.” Kagome was genuinely surprised by the offer, though she couldn’t say exactly why; the older miko was more than a little rough around the edges, but she was a kind and very generous person.

Once they had finished eating, Kagome collected the bowls and followed Saku out into the freezing night. She wished that she hadn’t given Sesshomaru his pelt back, now, but it was too late to go back and get it, so she just grit her teeth against the cold and walked on. They went to the well at the center of the village and drew out a bucketful of water. The washed the dishes in silence until Saku spoke.

“I will teach you a few more tips in regard to herbs that you will find in this area that have medicinal proposes, however your basic knowledge of medicine is more than adequate. The main reason that I wanted to speak with you is that your taiyoukai told me that you are bound for Lady Hoshiko fortress.”

“Fortress?” Asked Kagome. Somehow she couldn’t imagine a miko living in a fortress, it just seemed… weird.

“Yes, fortress.” Repeated Saku, “I wanted to caution you about something. I have met Hoshiko before. She is as powerful as they come, and more stubborn than you would even believe. She may make you prove your worth to her and if she finds you unworthy, she may try to send you away.”

“How do I stop that from happening? How do I make her help me?” Asked Kagome. It had never occurred to her that Hoshiko would not want to help them.

“That I cannot tell you. You will figure it out though; if the why is strong enough, the how will find a way.” Bowls cleaned, the two women returned to the hut.


	6. True Faith

They told Shippou first. He took the news better than Kagome had anticipated.

“We have to keep moving,” She said as they stood outside the hut in the early morning light, “and Rin can’t travel in her current condition. Saku has agreed to let her stay here until we come back.”

“And you want me to stay with her.” He guessed shrewdly.

“Yes. We really don’t want to leave Rin alone here with no one who-”

“I’ll do it.” Shippou cut her off, “Even if you hadn’t asked me, I would still be staying here. As long as she wants me around, I’ll never leave her alone.”

Warmth blossomed in Kagome’s heart; her little kitsune had grown into a man, and a fiercely devoted and loyal one at that.

“You know you should tell her how you feel.” She told him. Shippou looked away from her, blushing heavily. “Girls love to know that they have people who love them.”

“Yeah well…” He muttered, blushing and crossing his arms, “Koga was always telling you that he loved you and you never seemed to really be that thrilled.”

Kagome laughed, and shook her head. “That’s because I didn’t feel the same about him.”

“Pft, Rin’s not interested in me.” He snorted.

Kagome punched him gently in the arm. “Don’t be stupid.”

Shippou muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “yeah right” under his breath, but his eyes were light with hope.

Telling Rin was harder, not because she complained or fought with them about their decision, but because she looked so heartbroken by the fact that they were leaving her behind. Sesshomaru had been the one to tell her and Kagome watched from the corner of her eye as he spoke to the young woman. The only thing that had brightened her expression was when Sesshomaru told her that Shippou would be staying behind as well.

Once all their affairs were in order, and they had said farewell to Rin and Shippou, Kagome and Sesshomaru stepped out to the front of the hut where Saku waited. In her hands she held a pack, which she thrust at Kagome.

“Here.” She said, “There’s another change of clothes in there for you, girl. As well as some of the herbs I showed you last night and some dried rabbit, too.”

Kagome blinked, and accepted the bundle. “Thank you.” She said, and then she threw her arms around the older miko, impulsively. “And thank you for looking out for Rin and Shippou.”

Saku patted her back awkwardly. “Just don’t forget to come back for them. I don’t want to be saddled with them forever, you hear?” She said gruffly, crossing her arms over her chest in an exaggerated show of annoyance.

“Well be back as soon as we can.” Kagome promised her, and then with a wave she turned away to join Sesshomaru who was sanding in the path, facing the mountains.

“Ready?” She asked him, looking up at his face, through the fringe of her bangs. He looked down at her.

She was already shivering slightly with the cold. He looked at her for a few seconds and then soundlessly he draped his pelt around her. “Yes.”

“Oh!” She said, blinking in surprise, “Thanks.”

He nodded silently and the two of them began their trek anew. Once they cleared the edge of the village, their path to the tall peaks in the distance stretched long and unobstructed ahead of them.

“So how long do you think it will take us from here? Five, maybe six days?” She asked her companion.

“To the mountains? If we make decent time it should take us only four.” He replied. “The remainder of the journey to Hoshiko’s fortress will take another three days at minimum, that is if we are not stopped by any more distractions.”

“So about another week total, then?” She re-adjusted the pelt around her body; it was warm and soft, but it was also heavy and rather cumbersome for someone of Kagome’s small stature to have wrapped about them.

“Yes.”

Then there was silence between them again. Without Shippou or Rin to talk to, or even to listen to, the journey was filled with a strained silence. Unfortunately that meant that she was free to think. She _really_ did not want to be thinking right then. Her mind was pulling her in so many different directions that she couldn’t tell what she should be worried about and when she wasn’t worrying, she was thinking about the almost kiss from the night before.

_What was that? I can understand feeling guilt- or the Sesshomaru equivalent of guilt- but that wasn’t what that was._

There had been nothing overtly inappropriate about the interaction, but it had been the most intensely sensual experience of her entire life. Which actually, now that she really thought about it, was terribly pathetic. She was twenty years old and she had only been kissed but a handful of times, never had a proper boyfriend, and most certainly never had sex.

 _It’s not my fault,_ she thought grumpily, _I spent a whole year walking around the Sengoku Jidai, hunting Shikon shards and then after that, I spent four years trying to get my life back in order._

Kagome heaved a great sigh of displeasure, prompting Sesshomaru to glance at her with one of his slightly raised eyebrow looks.

“So…” she began lamely, “Why does Hoshiko live in a fortress? I thought she was a miko.”

“How did you know that?” Sesshomaru’s eyebrows raised slightly.

“Saku told me last night.”

“Hn. I see. As for Hoshiko’s choice of residence, this Sesshomaru suspects that she has sequestered herself there in order to avoid the fate of the unfortunate miko who became the Shikon jewel.”

“So she lives there because she doesn’t want to be constantly fighting youkai?” Kagome reiterated.

“That is my suspicion.”

Kagome sighed again. It looked like Sesshomaru was not going to make any effort to continue the conversation; he really was the most reticent person she had ever encountered. The conversation had stalled at that point and she wasn’t sure if it would be more awkward to walk in silence or to attempt to strike up a new conversation. She shot Sesshomaru a surreptitious glance. He was focused on the road ahead of them, giving no indication that he was in the mood to be talked to.

Kagome opted for silence.

The hours crawled by. She amused herself for a time by examining the forest that bordered the left side of the path, but after a while looking at the dense foliage became boring too. So she turned and looked at the open fields on her right, but that only held her attention for a few minutes.

So she began using her power to locate youkai in the area. It felt something like stretching out an extra limb; her spiritual senses were almost like an invisible physical part of her being though. She could _feel_ through them, similar to when she reached her hand out and touched something. She could sense a myriad of tiny, relatively harmless youkai in the area, but there was nothing that would actually pose a real threat to them.

 _Though,_ she thought, _there really aren’t that many things that would pose a threat to the two of us. Especially after Sesshomaru’s declaration of absolute loyalty to me yesterday._

She stretched her powers out further, searching an even greater distance.

“What _are_ you doing?” Sesshomaru’s voice broke her concentration and her powers snapped back to her.

“I’m amusing myself.” She told him.

“No, what you are doing, is radiating enough power right now, to attract an army of youkai.”

“Well _sorry_ ,” she said with a great deal of sarcasm saturating her voice, “if _someone_ would talk to me, I might not need to resort to looking for youkai who are kilometers away in order to entertain myself.”

“And what would you have this Sesshomaru talk about, miko?” He asked her.

“I don’t know; anything would do, I guess. I’m just really bored.” She thought for a minute. “How about this, where do you live when you’re not wandering all over?”

“This Sesshomaru resides in a fortress in the heart of the western lands.”

“That’s… really informative.” She made a face at him. “What’s it like?”

“Very large and very old.” Kagome glared at him; there was the tiniest hint of a quirk to his lip. He was messing with her again. _Well at least he’s feeling better now,_ she thought.

“Again, you always astound me with you incredible powers of description.” If he wasn’t going to play fair, she was just going to pester him with questions. “Have you lived there your whole life?”

“Yes.”

“Did your father live there?”

“Yes.”

“Do you like it there?”

“It is tolerable.”

“What do you do, as ‘the Lord of the Western Lands’?”

“I rule over the youkai who reside there.”

“Are you being purposely difficult?” she finally asked, exasperated.

His smirk intensified just slightly, golden eyes narrowing just slightly with amusement.

“Yes.”

“Why?” She asked, exasperated.

“Because this Sesshomaru finds your annoyance to be rather entertaining.”

“You have the most twisted sense of humor of anyone that I have ever met!” She growled at him.

“Hn.”

“What does that even mean?”

He did not deign to answer her question.

“You and your brother have so much in common sometimes, it just kills me…” she muttered.

He didn’t respond to that either.

For a few minutes the only sounds to be heard were the calls of the birds in the trees and the crunching of their footsteps on the dirt.

“So who’s taking care of your house right now?” She asked after a while.

“Jaken.”

“Oh! I’d kind of wondered what had happened to him.” She grinned at him. “How are you dealing with not having him around?”

“Until this moment, this Sesshomaru was enjoying the fact that there was no inane babbling during his travels.” He looked at her sideways.

“I’m not babbling inanely, I’m making conversation.” She said with a huff.

“Is there a difference?”

“I hate you!” She cried. “You are the worst traveling companion _ever_. I don’t know how Rin and Jaken put up with you for all that time.”

“They both had a healthy respect for me, which is something that you seem to be lacking.” While the words sounded vaguely sinister, there was no malice in them.

“I do respect you, but I’m not afraid of you.” She said calmly. “Jaken and Rin were both slightly afraid of you, even though Rin seems to have lost most of that fear as she spent time with you. But if you were to snap at her, she would still flinch.”

“And why do you not fear this Sesshomaru at all?” His voice was silky and held a hint of genuine curiosity.

“Well, first off you swore to never let anything bad happen to me ever again,” a little thrill rand through her at the memory, “but I never really feared you because, while you are definitely not a friendly person, you do not go around killing indiscriminately. You also never killed Inuyasha, even after he cut your _arm_ off.”

“Hn.” He said. “As you can see, it grew back. So he was not even worth the effort that it would have taken to put him down.”

 _Right,_ thought Kagome, _losing your arm didn’t bother you at all._

“Also, I could totally take you, if I needed to.” She said instead, deflecting the conversation away from potentially emotional waters with a taunt.  But the minute the words left her mouth, she regretted them. A predatory gleam appeared in his eyes.

_I think I might have just challenged him._

Her suspicions were confirmed when he said, “Indeed? You shall have to prove this, miko. This Sesshomaru is curious to see if you are capable of backing up your boast or if you are all talk.”

“And how do you propose to go about having me prove it? I might purify you, you know!” She said, nervously.

The look in his eyes intensified. “We shall see.”

Kagome suddenly had the notion that this was how a mouse felt when it was staring into the eyes of a cat. Sesshomaru wasn’t quite licking his lips, but she knew that she had, in that moment, become prey. She was hyper aware of his presence; muscles tensed, pulse racing.

“Oh?” She asked, mouth dry. There was an honest to goodness smirk on his face now.

“If this Sesshomaru can catch you in a position where you cannot escape, you must admit to my superiority.”

“And how do you propose that I prove my ability to take you, when that would probably result in you getting blasted by my powers?”

“If you can purify even a small bit of my youki, this Sesshomaru will concede defeat,” his eyes narrowed, “but that will not happen.”

“And when does this game start?”

The smirk on his face widened. “This Sesshomaru will give you a ten second head start. We begin now.”

Kagome had almost anticipated that he would say something to that effect and she took off running for the woods. She ran, zipping through the trees, desperate to put as much distance between herself and Sesshomaru as possible. Since she had no hope of outrunning him, she needed to hear him coming so she could avoid him.

Unfortunately her plans were all for naught. He came out of nowhere, a speeding streak of white, and she just barely managed to duck out of his reach and behind another tree. She scrambled over a log and pushed branches out of her way with her outstretched hands. Adrenaline pumped through her veins. She knew that he wouldn’t hurt her, but she was slightly concerned about what _would_ happen when he caught her. And catch her he would, she had no doubt about that; it wasn’t a matter of _if_ , but _when_. The only thing she could think of was that she should hold out as long as she could and then try to shock him with her powers when he had her in his grasp.

Again, Sesshomaru zipped into her presence in a blur of white and silver. She tripped on a twig and found herself suddenly pressed against a tree within the steely cage of his arms.

She brought her powers to the surface and pushed against his youki with her glowing hands. Their auras collided and sparked, but to her astonishment, she found that she could not purify him. Instead tingles radiated through her body, and if the slight surprise in his eyes was any indication, she had a notion that he was feeling them too. She pressed harder and the tingling increased. Heat began to pool in her stomach and her resident flock of butterflies took flight in reaction.

Then he _growled_ at her. “Stop that, miko. I have won.” He pressed her back further into the tree. The bow and arrows and the pack that Saku had given her pressed uncomfortably into her spine and the cuts on her ribs burned fiercely, but she barely noticed. His head dipped down and his check brushed hers as he spoke, voice low in her ear, “Concede defeat… Kagome.”

His voice rumbled through her and she shivered. “I- I admit defeat.” She stammered. She could feel this smirk stretching across his face, pressed as it was against her cheek, even though she could not see it.

“Do you fear me now?” He whispered, breath against her ear, sending a shiver down her spine and setting her butterfly flock into a frenzy.

“No.” She whispered back; she was helpless against him, but she did not feel any threat of violence coming off of him.

“Hmm.” his face had dropped slightly lower, so that his nose touched the spot just underneath her ear, where her jawbone ended, and involuntarily her head tilted, just a bit, giving him slightly better access to her neck. Even as she did it, her brain shot her a little warning message reminding her that what she had just done was a sign of total submission as far as dogs were concerned. She wondered just how many of his instincts were doglike. “How very brave.” His face dropped further still to hover just over her racing pulse, “Or very foolish.” Kagome gave an involuntary gasp when his lips moved over her skin. And then, just like the last time, he pulled away. He stared at her for a moment and she wondered how she looked to him.

“We should continue.” He began to walk back toward the road. She took a few seconds to gather her wits about her again. Her cheeks were burning with heat, and the butterflies would not settle down, and again she felt bereft by the loss of Sesshomaru’s presence against her. She wondered if she had any effect on him at all or if he had just found a new way to torment her. Glancing back at the tree, she was stunned to see ten gouges in the bark…

 _… right where his hand were._ Apparently she _did_ have some effect on him. A little thrill ran through her.

“Miko, stop dawdling.” His voice was smooth and calm as ever.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m coming.” She readjusted the bow across her back and followed after him. They had barely broken through the barrier of the woods when her head gave a vicious throb and another memory slammed into her mind.

It was intense and terrifying.

_She was falling, tumbling off the edge of a cliff that had suddenly disappeared from underneath her. No that was wrong. A force had shoved her off the edge. Over the sound of the wind rushing past her ears she heard the roar of a waterfall._

I’m going to fall into the water and if the drop doesn’t kill me, then the pressure of the falls will, _she thought._

_A scream of absolute, unadulterated terror tore itself from her mouth. And then she saw him. He was a flash of white light in the sky, coming towards her. He reached her just before they hit the water and at the last second he rolled them over in the air so that he took the full force of the fall._

_They slammed into the freezing water and the breath was knocked from her chest. Thanks to his added weight and the direction that he had been coming in from, they had been pushed away from the direct force of the falls, but that did not meant that they were in the clear. The water was churning and the undertow was tugging fiercely at their bodies._

_He dragged them through the rapids, to the place where the cliff wall met the water. There was a crevice there and he hoisted her up into it before climbing up himself. She was coughing, sputtering, choking on water. Once her lungs had cleared, she looked at her savior. And then she saw the blood pouring off of him._

She clutched at her head, bent over, trying to turn the memory off, but the horror of it gripped her tightly like a fist, squeezing her heart in its iron grasp; she couldn’t breathe.

And then he was there again. Hands on her cheeks to lift her face upwards. He was saying something, but she couldn’t quite understand what it was. All she knew was that he was holding onto her and they were firmly on solid ground. Slowly the panic that had engulfed her began to recede; however, the trauma remained. She launched herself at Sesshomaru and clung to him, and ignoring the discomfort that his armor caused, she sobbed into his chest. After a few seconds, he worked the fingers of one hand through her hair, cradling the back of her neck, wrapped his other arm around her mid back and held her close. His chest rumbled with a sound of displeasure, but she was fairly certain that it was not directed _at_ her, but at whatever was distressing her.

After a few minutes she began to pull herself together. She stepped away from him, wiping her eyes and looking down at the ground.

“Sorry.” She muttered thickly.

“A memory?” he asked.

She nodded in reply.

He did not ask her what it had been of, and for that she was grateful. She wasn’t sure that she could talk about it just yet; even though it hadn’t been _her_ memory, per say, it still felt real enough to horrify her.

“Can you keep walking or do you wish to stop?” He asked.

“Let’s keep going for a while longer. I’m ok now.” It was an outright lie; she was in no way ok, but she did not want to stop just yet. If she stopped, she knew she would ruminate on the memory until she drove herself insane.

Sesshomaru looked at her for a moment and she knew that he knew she was lying. But he turned and they walked on into the gathering darkness. Her breath fogged, the chill intensifying as the sun’s warmth began to leave the air.

The sun was setting directly in front of them now, lighting up the sky above the mountains with pinks, golds, oranges and finally a deep, violent red that faded into an inky blue-black sky. As she watched a pair of cranes flew across the tableau, cutting black, bird-shaped holes in the dying light.

Once the sun had dipped completely below the peaks, darkness covered the land like a blanket. The moon was a bare sliver in he sky and with nothing to light the way, Kagome began to stumble and trip over small ricks or dips in the road. The fourth time she nearly fell, Sesshomaru sighed and stopped walking.

“We should stop for the night before you seriously injure yourself.”

She was too tired to argue with him, or to even comment that she wasn’t nearly that clumsy.

They turned off the path and sought shelter amongst the trees. Kagome sat mutely at the base of a large tree as Sesshomaru started the fire. They ate the dried meat that Kagome found tucked into the pack. It was slightly smashed thanks to it being pressed between her and a tree earlier, but it tasted fine.

By the time they were finished with their meal, the air was freezing. Even the shelter of the trees and the crackling fire did little to ward off the cold, and despite being draped as she was in Sesshomaru’s pelt, Kagome was shivering. She buried her face in the fur, trying to keep it warm. She could hear Sesshomaru moving around on the other side of the clearing and she heard a strange _clank_ and then a _thud_ , wondering what he was doing, she looked up, be he was no longer on the other side of the fire.

Instead he was walking towards her, armor removed. When he reached her he bent down and lifted her effortlessly from the ground.

“What-” She began but he cut her off.

“This Sesshomaru told you that no harm would come to you again. That includes you freezing to death in your sleep.” He sat at the base of the largest tree in the clearing and settled her in his lap. Then he pulled his pelt off of her and proceeded to rewrap it around the both of them, pressing her tightly into the warm cocoon of his arms and chest. She unconsciously snuggled against him, pressing her back against his chest, wanting to get as close as possible to the warmth of his body. Sesshomaru tucked her head underneath his chin and his long, silky hair fell around them.

“Sleep, miko.” He rumbled at her.

And she did.


	7. The Heart Is Hard To Find

Kagome woke up warm. Opening her eyes, a sea of white and silver surrounded her and she was struck by a strange sense of de ja vu. She shifted and realized that she had been sleeping sitting up. And then she remembered where she was.

Suddenly she was wide-awake.

Taking silent inventory of the situation, Kagome discovered that she was sitting sideways across Sesshomaru’s lap, head tucked underneath his chin, leaning against his chest, which rose and fell steadily, and his arms were wrapped firmly around her like unyielding steel bands. And if the low growl that she felt more than heard was any indication, he was awake now too. The arms around her tightened, bringing her closer to him.

“Sesshomaru?” She squirmed around, trying to look at his face, but looking up only caused _her_ face to become pressed into contact with his neck. Another low growl rolled through him.

“Stop moving, miko.” His voice was quiet, but there was an edge to it that set the butterflies in her stomach fluttering slightly.

“Can I get up?” She said and after a few seconds, his arms loosened.

She climbed out of his lap with some difficulty; her muscles were stiff from the last night’s sleeping position. She stretched, arching her spine as she reached towards the sky. She felt his stare on her and turned to look at him. His eyes had taken on their familiar molten gold cast.

“Um… do you want to eat breakfast?” She fidgeted under his stare.

Sesshomaru gave a curt nod and pushed himself to his feet. He walked over to the other side of the clearing and retrieved his armor. She watched for a few seconds out of the corner as he fastened it back on, then she pulled the rest of the rabbit out of the pack. She handed Sesshomaru his portion then settled herself by the now-dead fire. The air felt crisp and sharp and she glanced up at the grey sky apprehensively. It felt suspiciously like there might be snow in the near future. Glancing down at her feet, she shuddered. Her tabi and sandals were barely warm enough when they were dry; if they got wet, she could easily imagine her feet freezing off.

They moved out for the day in relative silence since neither one was in a particularly talkative mood at that point. There was a tension between then that seemed to have become an almost palpable thing.

Around midday the wind began to pick up. It whipped Sesshomaru’s hair around, but he paid it no mind. Somehow his hair didn’t ever get in his face or seem to tangle, no matter which direction the wind blew; she wondered if it was enchanted.

Kagome’s hair on the other hand kept escaping from where she had tucked it underneath the pelt, and it made seeing very difficult most of the time.

_If it is, I want that same spell on mine…_

Then the snow began to fall. It was just flurries at first, but within half an hour, thick, fat flakes were falling from the sky. Unfortunately with the wind blowing as strongly as it was, the snowflakes were being driven straight into their faces. Sesshomaru did not seem to mind the snow, but within minutes, Kagome was damp and freezing.

“Miko.” Said Sesshomaru who had stopped walking.

“What?” She replied through chattering teeth.

“Come here.”

“Why?”

“Just do as I say and stop arguing.”

She hustled over to stand in front of him and he reached out and pulled her in closer. Then she felt a crackle of energy and the sphere of light engulfed them. This time, Kagome was not focused on keeping Rin alive and she was free to pay attention to what was happening around her.

The liftoff caused nearly the same sensation that she had felt whenever Inuyasha would take off with her, only much more intense. They sped high above the trees and the ground below, nearly obscured by the falling snow, zipped by beneath them. Remembering what Sesshomaru had told her, she clung to him tightly; she had no desire to fall out of the sky.

After a few minutes, they toughed down again, this time in the middle of the woods. The snow was falling so heavily now that she could hardly see the trees. Sesshomaru took hold of one of her frozen hands and began leading her forwards. They walked for a few more minutes, until they came to a cave and he led her inside.

All of a sudden Kagome felt a brush of powerful youki, and then another one, and then she gasped; they were heading towards what felt like a large group of Youkai.

“Sesshomaru, where are we?”

“This cave belongs to one of the youkai tribes that this Sesshomaru rules over.” He said stoically.

“What kind of youkai?” She asked as she rubbed her free hand up and down her other arm to attempt to bring some life back to it.

“Neko.” The word fell off his tongue with a certain measure of disdain. It was rather funny, actually; it was such a dog thing to not want to associate with cats. Despite everything, a weak giggle escaped her mouth.

He looked at her, and one of his eyebrows rose slightly. “And just what is so amusing?”

“Nothing.” She said, fighting back another laugh.

“Hn.” He turned away.

To Kagome’s surprise, the cave did not get darker or colder the further in they went, instead she began to see a soft glow illuminating the walls and when they rounded a corner, they found themselves in a fully lit chamber and face to face with a pair of male youkai who both had their swords drawn.

Both of them were tall and brown-haired, and they had identical black lines that ran from the outer corners of their slanted, green eyes all the way to their pointed ears. They moved with an easy grace as they sheathed their swords and came forwards towards Sesshomaru and Kagome.

“Lord Sesshomaru, we thought that we sensed you, but we had to be sure.” Said the slightly taller one, who stood on the right as they both bowed low. “It is an honor.”

“I must speak to Shun.” He said. He had slipped back into the cold, commanding persona that he displayed to most of the world.

_He hasn’t been like that with me since I told him to stop ignoring me,_ Kagome realized, _he’s actually been kind of nice… when he isn’t intentionally confusing me._

“He was the one who first felt your presence; he awaits your presence in the main chamber. We will take you to him now, if that suits you?” The men waited for Sesshomaru to nod before they turned and waked deeper into the lair.

The overwhelming presence of youki around her made her shiver; there had to be at least forty taiyoukai in the area, not to mention a multitude of minor youkai. None of them felt exceptionally strong, but their sheer number was frightening.

Sesshomaru glanced at her. “Miko, come here.”

She hurried to his side, willing to sacrifice a bit of her dignity as a strong, capable warrior to feel just a little safer.

A few minutes later they entered a large cavern, which was filled with a significant number of youkai, all of whom were dressed in armor and bore similar facial markings to the two men who were leading them. They lounged on every available surface; some leaned against walls, while others lay on benches, and still more simply sat upon large, flat cushions on the floor. Though every one of the men and women in the cave had arranged their bodies in a great show of artful relaxation, their eyes were fixed firmly upon Sesshomaru and Kagome, belying their true emotions.

_Oh they are_ such _cats! They’re scared of him, but they would never admit it, and if for some reason he were to attack one of them, the victim would manage to convince himself that he had_ wanted _Sesshomaru to kill him._ The thought was almost funny, and some of the tension, which had gripped her, eased.

In the back end of the chamber sat a large throne and upon it sat a very handsome young man with long black hair that fell like a waterfall, spilling over one of his armrests. Though the expression on his face was one of calculated boredom and aloofness, Kagome- who was now close enough to identify his youkai from the others- felt anger and tension laced through his aura. His disgust at Sesshomaru’s presence in his home was palpable.

“Lord Sesshomaru; to what do I owe the honor of your presence here?” The man, presumably Shun, said as he stood and bowed, coming down from the dais upon which his throne sat. Standing up, she could see that he was slightly shorter than Sesshomaru, though his build was more muscular.

“This Sesshomaru requires a place to wait out this storm and to pass the night, should it not cease within the day.” Sesshomaru told him.

_Perks of being the lord of the land, I guess,_ Kagome thought, _you never ask for anything. You simply tell people what you want and they do it._

“But of course.” Replied Shun, his tone unctuous and overly polite, “We shall provide rooms for you and your companion.” Though he addressed Sesshomaru, his attention was focused on Kagome and he wore a calculating and slightly predatory look. His eyes flicked over her from head to toe in a fashion that was not unfamiliar. Men on trains and men in her office had both been fond of lasciviously perusing her figure with their eyes and the gaze, unwelcome as always, immediately cemented in her mind, a distinct dislike for this demon.  

Sesshomaru’s eyes narrowed. “She shall remain with me; we require only one room.”

Kagome looked at him, startled. She’d known that he’d felt at least something for her, but she also knew Sesshomaru to be a rather private person and she would have thought that he would have liked to have some space to himself.

“Forgive me, my lord. I just assumed that because she was human-” Shun said, his voice carefully slow and placating.

“Presume nothing, when it comes to this Sesshomaru.” There was a very sharp edge to his voice and despite his best efforts, the youkai before him flinched ever so slightly.

“Of course, forgive me, I shall not make that mistake again.”

“See that you do not. Now, this Sesshomaru wishes to retire.” The brief anger was gone and the cold boredom was back

Shun beckoned the two men from earlier. “Gin, Haku; you will take our guests to their room and see that they are comfortable.” Then he looked back at Sesshomaru, though his eyes lingered on Kagome for a few seconds, and bowed deeply. “They will make sure that you are provided everything that you require. It is truly an honor to have you grace us with a visit. I pray that both you and your lady enjoy your stay here.”

Gin and Haku led them out of the chamber and down another passageway. They wound their way expertly through the maze of tunnels until they came to a doorway that led to a smaller cavern, the floor of which was draped in furs and several piles of the large pillows.

“This is where you will stay; the guest chambers are slightly out of the way, so the rest of the tribe will not bother you. I am Gin, by the way, and Haku is my brother.” Said the shorter of the two, gesturing first to himself and then to the other man. Both bowed sharply.

“I’m Kagome, sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier, I was kind of freezing.” She smiled.

“You should be more than warm enough in here.” Haku nodded his head in the direction of the cave. “We will make sure that you have food sent to you shortly.”

“Is there anything else that you need?” Asked Haku.

Kagome glanced at Sesshomaru and felt irritation creep into her; somehow his clothing and hair were already dry. She pursed her lips, then looked back at the two men.

“I would love a change of clothes and I know it’s a long shot, but do you have somewhere that I could wash up?” She asked. She was still freezing and fairly certain that she resembled a drowned rat; she couldn’t fathom why Shun had looked at her with anything resembling interest.

Haku scratched the back of his head. “As far as clothes go, I can check with some of the women and see if any of them have anything you could use. And we do have an underground stream that runs through our caves.”

“It’s actually not that cold, either.” Gin informed her.

Kagome smiled at the brothers. “If you would check for me, I would really appreciate that. And I guess I’ll wait until later to bathe.” She wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing her biceps vigorously and trying to preserve what little warmth was left within her, however it did her no good. She was frozen through and through.

With a few more parting words and promises to return later with dry clothing for Kagome, the cats departed. As soon as they were gone, she set down her bow and quiver, as well as the now soaked pack from Saku, and she shrugged off Sesshomaru’s pelt. She wished that it had dried as well, but unfortunately it was just as cold and damp as she.

Kagome glanced behind her and saw that Sesshomaru was unfastening his armor, looking away from her for the time being. She considered her options; she could remain in her wet clothing, she could take off her wet clothing and wrap herself in the furs and deal with whatever happened when Sesshomaru realized that she was naked underneath, or she could take off most of her wet clothing and wrap herself in furs and deal with a little bit of discomfort to avoid the whole ‘naked with Sesshomaru in the room’ thing. That thought led her mind down a completely different path. The kind with _him_ naked too. She could almost feel his bare skin against hers and heat began to gather low in her stomach.

_No! Bad! Even if he were interested in…_ that _, it would be a terrible idea to get involved with him._ She told herself, shaking her head. She was fairly certain that she was blushing a very peculiar shade of red at that moment in time. She glanced at him and much to her horror, his gaze was fixed directly on her. She flushed even darker and looked away quickly.

She made her decision and peeled off the sodden winter kimono and hakama, leaving her in the damp miko’s kimono. She was hurrying over to a pile of furs, pointedly _not_ looking at the side of the room that Sesshomaru had occupied when she ran straight into his chest. His _bare_ chest. He was wearing nothing but his hakama.

She swallowed thickly. She had known that he would have an amazing physique simply because he was a youkai, however, she was completely unprepared to be confronted by all of the perfect planes and dips of his flat stomach and well-muscled chest. And then she saw them; he had markings on his hips, too. Two thin red stripes, just like those on his face, which curved over his hipbones and down towards the hollows where his hips and pelvis met. Kagome’s eyes were drawn to those stripes, and they traced them compulsively and it took everything she had to not reach out and run her fingers along them.

“Do you see something interesting, miko?” His voice was deep and held a hint of humor.

Her eyes snapped up to his face. “I… Uh… I’m going over there.” She said dazedly, tearing her gaze away from the stripes to look him in the face.

“Take this off.” He commanded, reaching out to pluck at her kimono.

“W-what?” Her eyes were impossibly wide.

_Surely he does not mean–_

He lifted his right hand, in which he held his red and white haori. “This Sesshomaru thought that perhaps you did not wish to freeze while you wait for your change of clothes.”

“Oh.” She said, stunned at his thoughtfulness, while at the same time, slightly disappointed that he had not wanted her to strip for any other reasons.

_Stupid, you just got through deciding that you weren’t going to get naked around Sesshomaru! So quit ogling him._ She chastised her self.

“Thank you.” She took the proffered garments, still in a slight daze and she stumbled her way around him, face burning. It wasn’t as if she had never seen a shirtless man before, quite the opposite, in fact; she had been forced to play nurse to both Inuyasha and Miroku on a regular basis. The thing with Sesshomaru’s chest was that it reminded her of the chest she had been snuggled against in that dark cave from her memories. Kagome was actually becoming more and more certain that it had been Sesshomaru’s lap that her other self had been sitting in.

She looked back at him and the butterflies in her stomach seemed to have recovered from their stint in the cold. He was stretching his arms above his head and the muscles of his back rippled appealingly as he moved.

She forcibly yanked her eyes away from him. “Don’t look over here, ok?” She managed to say before ducking behind a pile of pillows to change.

“Hn.” Was his only response.

She peeled away the sodden white kimono and shivered as the air of the cavern hit her bare, damp skin. She considered removing the bandage that covered the wound on her ribs, but she had nothing dry to re-wrap it with, so she let it be.

Kagome slipped Sesshomaru’s haori around her. It engulfed her. The sleeves were far too long for her arms and the body of the garment was too wide for her. She grabbed the thin, cotton belt from her now discarded kimono and tied it around her waist. As she was knotting the belt, her nose brushed against the fabric and she sniffed it, enjoying his scent. Then she realized what she had done and felt stupid.

_You’re acting like a little girl with a crush,_ she chided herself, _where is your common sense? Get it together._

When she stood up, she was pleased to discover that the haori was long enough that it fell just above her knees, so it wasn’t indecently short, but just as when she had worn Inuyasha’s haori so many years before, she moved carefully to avoid accidentally showing a good deal more skin that she intended to.

Gathering all of her discarded clothing, she moved back into the center of the room. As she laid the kimonos and hakama flat by the fire so that they could dry, she watched Sesshomaru out of the corner of her eye.

While she had been changing, he had settled himself cross-legged on a cushion and had removed Bakusaiga from its sheath. He was now polishing the blade with care, using a piece of white cloth, which he held in his right hand. He cleaned the sword the same way that he did everything else; slowly, meticulously, and with the greatest attention to detail.

Kagome padded over to his side and sat down next to him, enjoying the sensation of the soft fur against her bare legs, which she tucked neatly beneath her body.

“So…” she trailed off.

Sesshomaru glanced at her sideways, but did not cease his work.

“Why did you tell them that we only needed one room?” She asked.

His right hand stilled briefly on the blade and he turned to look her “Did you wish to be separated?” His expression was inscrutable as he sidestepped the question neatly.

Kagome blinked at him. “No, especially not after Shun looked at me like he thought that I might make an interesting snack. But I kinda thought you might want your space.”

Turning back to his work, he said, “Everyone is so presumptuous today.” Unlike when he had spoken to Shun earlier, his voice held no reprimand.

“So you don’t want your space?” She prodded.

“This Sesshomaru is beginning to reconsider the wisdom of his decision.” There was a taunting curl at the end of his lip.

“Oh admit it,” she leaned forward, resting her elbow on her knee and playfully propped her chin on the palm of her right hand, “you _love_ having me around.”

“Your presence is… tolerable.” He said, with a completely blank face.

They fell into silence as he continued tending to his sword. After a few minutes, Kagome got bored and stood up. She really had nothing that needed doing, but she could not stay still. She examined the cavern, which was about twice as tall as she, and was carved out of the same gray stone as the rest of the caves. Inside the cavern, light came from six torches, mounted on the walls at even intervals around the room. The furs lining the floor were all soft and brown and they were luxuriant to walk on. Kagome’s abused feet were in heaven and just for the sake of it, she wiggled her toes in the softness.

Focusing on the pillows next, she picked one up and turned it over in her hands. They were firm and rather large; each was about the size of a sofa cushion. The one she was holding was covered in light blue fabric, embroidered with white flowers. They were actually quite pretty, and Kagome thought it a little odd that a tribe of youkai living in such a primitive setting would bother with such intricate decoration.

Sesshomaru had just returned Bakusaiga to its sheath, when Gin, Haku, and an unfamiliar woman appeared at the door. The brothers blinked in surprise at the sight of Kagome wandering around in Sesshomaru’s haori, but they were both too polite to say anything.

_This is awkward,_ thought Kagome; _I hadn’t really considered what it would look like for me to wear his clothing._

“Lord Sesshomaru? Lady Kagome?” Haku broke the silence and led the woman forwards. “This is our sister, Megumi. She has brought a change of clothes for Lady Kagome.”

Megumi bowed low, clasping the bundle of clothing to her chest. “I am honored to meet you.” When she straightened Kagome could see that she had a soft, round face, and the same green eyes and black markings as her siblings. She looked to be a few years younger than Kagome, and had chestnut brown hair, which she wore in a high bun on the back of her head.

Gin bustled into the room after them, carrying an enormous tray laden with meat and rice, which he set down to one side of the room.

“It’s uh… just Kagome. And are those for me, Megumi?” Kagome asked brightly, indicating the clothes.

Megumi nodded and held the bundle out to Kagome. “I can also take you to the stream if you would like, so that you may wash properly.”

Kagome glanced from the food to Sesshomaru and then back to Megumi.

“I would love that, but I want to eat first. Why don’t you join us?” She looked at Gin and Haku, “You too, of course. That is, if that’s alright with you, Sesshomaru?”

“Hn.” He replied as Kagome led the wide-eyed Megumi across the room. Kagome kept up a constant stream of chatter throughout the meal; though she was still desperate for her upcoming bath, she was in higher spirits than she had been in for a while. The neko-youkai, while reticent at first, warmed up to her rapidly and she soon had them talking animatedly about their younger siblings, who were all of the age where they were continually underfoot.

It was a little nostalgic, sharing a meal and stories with strangers and she was reminded fiercely of her days spent traveling with Inuyasha.

Sesshomaru remained silent throughout the whole affair, thought she could feel his eyes watching her whenever she was looking away from him. When the last scrap had been consumed, Gin and Haku took their leave and departed with the empty tray.

“I’m going to go bathe.” Said Kagome. As she stood, her foot caught on the edge of a loose fur and she began to stumble, only to find that Sesshomaru’s hand was wrapped firmly around her hip, steadying her.

“Thanks.” She smiled at him. His eyes rested on the place where his hand touched her body and they stayed there for a few seconds, before he lowered his arm. Color rose in her cheeks. “I’ll be back in a while.”

“Do as you will.” He said, turning away.

Barefoot, Kagome padded after Megumi. “So, what’s it like having two brothers?” She asked.

“It is… trying at times, however I love them dearly.” She replied.

“I bet! I mentioned my younger brother earlier and he’s bad enough! I can’t imagine having two brothers to contend with, especially not two older brothers!” Kagome laughed. Another wave of nostalgia washed over her; Megumi reminded her so much of Sango that it almost hurt.

“Indeed. They are rather protective, they keep chasing off suitors.” She said with a huff, making a face, “They say I’m too young to be courted. But I think they’re being ridiculous; on hundred and eighty is plenty old enough!”

“You’re one hundred and eighty?” Kagome was flabbergasted; Megumi looked so young to her, she would have pegged her as sixteen or seventeen were she human. The disparity between human and youkai ages was astounding.

Megumi giggled. “I know that humans age differently than we youkai do, so I am probably around seventeen in your terms of reckoning.”

“That’s what I would have guessed.” Kagome shook her head. To live so long, moving so slowly through time; she could not even fathom it. “Wow, though… Hey, I actually have a question for you.”

They turned a corner and found themselves in an open cavern full of women who were lounging about on low benches and cushions, polishing pieces of armor. Several of them looked up as the girls walked through, but most of them pretended to ignore the two of them.

“What is it?” Megumi smiled and nodded to a girl with long red hair and bright yellow eyes.

“I have a friend who is a kitsune and he seems to be aging a lot quicker than any other youkai I’ve ever met. Why is that?”

“Hmm.” Megumi pressed a finger to her chin, pensively, “Kitsune are interesting; they have much more control over how quickly they age than most other youkai. It has something to do with the magic that they use. I am not completely sure how it works, but they can make themselves age at a much more human rate should they wish to do so.”

_He’s making himself grow up to match Rin,_ she realized.

“Huh.” Kagome said, aloud.

They wound their way through the warren of tunnels, occasionally passing other youkai on their way. A few of the men that they passed waved slyly at Megumi and one of them even winked at her.

Kagome nudged her with an elbow. “Looks like your brothers aren’t enough to deter these guys.” She joked and Megumi flushed.

When they finally reached the underground stream, Kagome let out a cry of delight. The water, which was streaming through the cavern, was radiating warmth.

“Is this coming from an underground hot spring?” She asked.

“I suppose it must be.” Said Megumi.

Kagome hurriedly untied the knot of her belt and began to slide Sesshomaru’s haori off of her shoulders.

“What is it like?” Megumi asked shyly.

“What’s what like?” Kagome dipped her toe into the water and closed her eyes in delight.

“Being courted by Lord Sesshomaru.”

“What?” Kagome stared at her, “He’s not courting me.”

 Megumi sat down on a rock. “Of course he is.” She said, “He give you his clothing when your own was too damp to wear, he publicly warned another male away from you, and he demanded your presence in his rooms.”

Kagome shook her head as she entered the water with a happy sigh. “He’s just possessive and he doesn’t want anything to get in the way of our mission.”

“That might explain him warning off Lord Shun, but not the other two things.” Megumi said wisely.

The warm water came up to Kagome’s chest and she dunked her head underneath, rinsing the accumulated dirt and grim of travel out of her hair.

“I don’t know what the other stuff is about. Sesshomaru is Sesshomaru; I’ve stopped trying to figure out why he does anything.”

“He’s courting you.” Megumi said with a confident nod of her head.

_Could he be? Is that what everything has been about?_ _But why on earth would he be courting me; I’m human._

“No, you’ve gotta be wrong.” She shook he head, as she smoothed her hands through her hair.

“We shall see.”

Kagome splashed about, luxuriating in the hot water. It was wonderful to be warm _and_ clean at the same time. But when she began to climb out of the water, the memory slammed into her head with the force of a freight train.

_They were pulling each other through the knee deep, icy underground river. He was bleeding profusely from a deep wound in his side and she was bruised from the fall and frozen from the cold water. After what felt like hours they reached a platform of dry rock and they managed to drag themselves onto it. The minute they were no longer in the water, they were on each other._

_She was desperately trying to divest him of his badly damaged armor and sodden haori, while he was insistently working her out of her soaked clothing._

_“You’re hurt! Let me see.” Her teeth chattered and her lifeless fingers fumbled helplessly with fastenings and straps, while his claws simply shredded through her school uniform top._

_“You are in danger of freezing to death should you stay in these garments.” He growled at her. Within a matter of minutes they had stripped each other down to their undergarments and he managed to wrangle her into his lap. She had fought him for a while, but his snarled warning to leave the wound alone, lest she touch the poison within it finally forced her hand._

_“You will remain still, miko.” He had commanded and his tone of voice had let her know that there would be no use in arguing with him. “I have not come this far to simply allow you to die from chills.” Though his voice was hard, she could feel small tremors running through his body, and his skin was frighteningly hot, as if a fire was burning beneath it._

He must really be feeling the poison, _she realized, frightened,_ he’s completely abandoned his formal speech.

_“Why did you come after me? You were injured and you’ve already more than paid me back for Rin’s life.”_

_“I protect what is mine._ You _are_ mine _.” He stated._

_“Wait, what?” She squirmed against him and he growled at her._

_“I am your protector, your life is mine to guard. Your life is mine and you are mine.” In some way, she supposed it probably made sense to him. He was nothing if not fiercely possessive._

_“I am my own person.” She told him._

_“Be that as it may, you are still mine and I will allow no other to take you from me.”_

_A shiver ran through her, though not at all from the cold. She could not deny that they idea of being possessed by him was not at all an unpleasant one._

_“And what does that mean?” She asked, a bit breathlessly._

_“It means, miko,” he growled, against the skin of her neck, “that you are mine. And as such I will care for you and that you will be silent and rest.”_

_She opened her mouth to say something, but she felt his_ fangs _pricking her skin as his mouth settled above her now racing pulse and a deep growl reverberated throughout her entire body._

When she came to, she was sputtering, choking, and coughing, trying to expel the water within her lungs. Above her head, she could see Megumi’s stricken face as she covered her mouth with her hands.

“Lady Kagome?” She cried, “Are you alright?”

Kagome wanted to talk, but her mouth wouldn’t work right, so she simply nodded.

“You fell when you were leaving the water and I could not rouse you!” She looked close to tears.

“It’s ok,” she rasped, propping herself up on one arm. “I must have just breathed in some water.”

“Are you sure?” Megumi fretted.

“Yes, I’m fine.” She was most certainly _not_ fine. Again, she was left shaken and shell-shocked by the memory she had received. “Let’s just go, ok?”

She pushed herself to her feet and after a few seconds of dizziness, she felt herself regaining her equilibrium and she offered a small smile to Megumi. Kagome dressed in silence and then gathered up Sesshomaru’s haori.

“And Megumi?” She said, “Please don’t mention this to Sesshomaru.”

Megumi looked stricken and uncertain, so Kagome forced a smile. “He just worries so much. There’s no point in getting him all worked up about nothing.”

With reluctance, the girl nodded and Kagome heaved a small sigh of relief.

_Oh this changes things,_ she thought, _Megumi may have been right and that’s bad. If I were to start something with him, I would only have to leave him. When I still thought that perhaps I was the only one who was really interested- not just reacting instinctively, it was one thing, but if he_ really _wants me, then he may never let me go._

_Would it really be so bad,_ an insidious voice whispered in her head, _to stay here with him?_

_Yes! I have to go home, I have mama, Grandpa, and Souta to think of!_ She shook her head. No matter what, she could _not_ get any more attached to Sesshomaru.


	8. I Don't Want To Fall In Love

She sat quietly at one end of the cavern, staring at the flickering torch that hung on the wall at the opposite end. Sesshomaru had not been there when she had returned from her bath, and for that she was grateful. The revelation that her latest memory had brought about was unsettling- though not wholly unexpected, in retrospect- and had the potential to complicate her already tangled life to an incomprehensible degree.

Sesshomaru had as good as declared the other her his personal property and he seemed to be in the process of transferring that declaration onto her current self.

_Now that I think about it, this explains why he was so cold to me at first. He thought that the other me-_ his _me- had come back and was being cold to him on purpose. Then when I turned out to not be her, it had to be rather unpleasant for him, to say the least._ Kagome wrapped her arms around her knees, as she drew her legs into her body. _When was it that he started to warm up to me? I think it was after I had the first wave of memories. After… I started to become_ her _._

That thought brought Kagome up short and she felt a rush of anger. _What is it with men in that family only liking me because I remind them of someone else? And the real kicker is that despite that, I keep falling for them too. And all this is double stupid because even if everything was sunshine and roses on the mistaken identity romance front, I can’t stay with him. After I kill the Well Youkai I have to go home; there are people there who need me._

She had the urge to hit something, or at least to purify a rampaging youkai.

_Maybe even Sesshomaru…_ _That is if I even still can. Apparently my powers don’t work on him any more. Wonderful._

At that moment, the object of her irritated musings walked into the cave. He was dressed in a borrowed black kimono, and for a few seconds, the sight of him in a piece of non-white clothing was enough to distract her, but those seconds passed quickly and Kagome found herself feeling angry again.

He paused midway into the room and looked at her. “You are angry.” He said.

“No I’m not.” She replied petulantly, turning away from him.

“Yes you are.” He came towards her and she threw a hand up, halting him in mid-step. She could see slight confusion etched on his face.

“What do you want from me?” She asked as she stood up and forced herself to look him dead in the eyes. They narrowed slightly.

“This Sesshomaru is unsure what you are talking about.” She could feel his youki rising; this had become a stare down, and she was challenging him.

“What I mean, Sesshomaru, is what exactly am I to you? A responsibility? A companion? A matter of honor?” She crossed her arms in front of her chest, “What?”

“You are some of all of those things.” He said slowly, eyes still narrowed.

“So you go around declaring everlasting protection to all of your companions? And you lend your clothing to all of the people you consider your responsibility? And you-”

His sudden growl cut her off. “Only you.” He took a step towards her.

“Why?” She asked, stepping up to meet him.

“Because you are mine.”

“You said that to the other me in the cave.” Her words struck him. For the first time she saw what looked like shock flickering in his golden eyes. “What happened there between you and her?”

He gave her no answer.

“Look, you said that it was only me, right? But it seems like it was her too.” She snapped.

“There is no difference between the two.” He snarled. They had moved forwards to the point that they were now standing toe to toe. His youki rolled against her in waves and she pushed back with her own aura. This time it crackled against his; apparently her powers were working again.

_Good,_ she thought viciously, _if the bastard won’t cooperate, I’ll make him._

“Yes there is! I am me and she is her!” Kagome threw her hands up. The anger that had sat within her was boiling over.

“You are the same. The only difference between you is the things you remember.” His posture was rigid.

“Yeah, well you sure didn’t seem to think so at the beginning.” She glared at him.

“This Sesshomaru was unsure as to the nature of the magic which had switched you.” He leaned in, forcing her to move back slightly, against her will. It was that or have his face pressing directly into hers. “When you started to experience the memories, it became apparent that you were not a different person and then you saved Rin again. There could be no further proof.” The logic was so simplistic that it was almost baffling to Kagome, but she supposed that it made some sort of sense.

“So what? You decided to start _this_ up again?” She gestured at the two of them.

“Yes.” He pushed her back another step.

“And you’re not just doing this because I’m as close as you’re going to get to the other Kagome?” She was losing ground now that her anger was beginning to fade slightly.

A growl of annoyance was her only answer. His eyes were burning; this time, though there was anger in the look, which had never been there before. He heart raced; she had started this confrontation and intended to see it through to the end, but she was actually no longer certain that she should have ever opened this particular topic of conversation.

“And what _exactly_ is this?”

“You are being intentionally difficult.” He snapped.

Megumi had said that he was courting her and he had expressed to her past self in very he-male youkai terms what _he_  thought was happening, but all of this unstated nonsense and subtext was driving her up the walls.

She punched him in the chest. “No I am not, you ass! I keep telling you, I am human, I don’t speak youkai body language! So either come out and explain what you want from me or leave me alone!”

Sesshomaru looked at her for a long second, his eyes searching her face with brows raised in disbelief, then after a few tense seconds, he turned away in a whirl of silver hair. He walked out the door and she did not see him again that evening.

She slept on a pile of pillows covered by a few of the furs from the floor; it was the first time in weeks that she had gone to sleep without being draped in Sesshomaru’s pelt.

_It’s better this way,_ she told herself, _it’s not like he’ll be there to tuck me in when I go home._

Her sleep was fitful, and when she woke she felt more exhausted than she had when she had gone to sleep the night before.

Sesshomaru was already dressed when she sat up.

“The snow has ceased.” He informed her coldly, “We shall depart in a few hours.”

She knew that his change in demeanor was her fault, and even though she didn’t feel guilty about it, she found herself wishing, illogically, that their conversation the night before had ended differently. A part of her wanted to apologize and to just go back to letting him care for her and take care of her and court her in a very round-about, undefined way, but the rational side of her brain told her to leave it.

_Better to drive him off now, anyway, then to lead him on only to leave him again_.

They moved out around mid-day. Gin, Haku, and Megumi saw them to the entrance of the caves once she and Sesshomaru had bid farewell to Shun. Megumi took in the changed dynamic between the two of them silently, but she took hold of Kagome’s hand before she left.

“It will work out.” She said, confidently. Kagome smiled sadly at her. She really wanted to believe that it would, but there was absolutely no way that it ever could. She’d made her choice; the precious lives of her family members at home would always take priority over her heart.

“I hope so.” She said, instead of explaining everything to Megumi.

As they moved forwards, Kagome did not even bother trying to make conversation with Sesshomaru. The silence was awful, but the through of attempting to fill it with empty noise was even worse, so she bore onwards miserably. When her teeth began to chatter, Sesshomaru draped his pelt around her, but he did not linger over her to make sure she was warm enough. She wrapped it about her body and told herself that she had her face buried in the fur for the warmth, and not so that she could keep his scent in her nose.

Though the snow had stopped falling, the ground was still covered in it and Kagome tripped and stumbled her way along the path, feet catching on every hidden root and concealed dip in the path. The going was hard and she could feel her muscles begging to ache, as they had not since the early days of their journey. The wound on her ribcage also burned and she worried about the possibility of it being infected.

As usual, her day was peppered with small headaches and memory flashes. By the time she’d had her third memory of fighting utterly unimportant, relatively weak youkai, she had stopped even trying to keep the tears from flowing. Her head ached, her body ached, and her heart ached.

She sniffed and wiped her traitorous eyes that would not stop leaking– from the cold and complex emotions– on her sleeve. Sesshomaru ignored her.

The hours crawled by with infinite slowness as they plodded through the fallen snow and it seemed to Kagome that the torture would never end. Then, suddenly the rounded a bend in the path and Kagome gasped. They were walking along the edge of a cliff and in the distance she could see a large village situated along the side of a mountain. A town made up of buildings that ranged in size from small huts to large outbuildings covered the mountainside before a massive castle-like fortress and a high wall, built for defense, encircled the entire development.

The plain that stretched from the base of the cliff, upon which they stood, all the way to the wall was covered in snow, which glittered in the early evening sun.

“Is that Hoshiko’s fortress?” She asked quietly.

“Hn.” He replied.

Kagome raised a hand to shield her eyes as she looked out over the space between them an their destination.

“We’re so close! Why didn’t you just take us here yesterday?”

“If you were a youkai who wished a favor from an unfathomably powerful miko, would you simply arrive upon her doorstep in a show of power?” His voice was slightly derisive.

“Oh, no, I hadn’t thought of that.” Kagome muttered, feeling stupid.

_It’s only been a few hours and I already miss the version of him that I had with me for most of the trip desperately._ She could feel her throat tightening and her eyes stung a bit.

They trudged onwards on the path that ran just along the edge of the high cliff.

All of a sudden Kagome felt a brush of youki on the edge of her senses and she was on guard in a flash. Ahead of her, Sesshomaru had halted on the path and had his sword drawn. The two looked out over the plains below, searching for the source of the youki. And then suddenly, there it was.

A pair of small, black shapes were cutting through the air, heading in their direction. As they grew closer, Kagome could see them resolving into the shapes of two giant, golden bird youkai, each with a mounted rider on it’s back.

She glanced as Sesshomaru and saw that he had drawn Bakusaiga, so she pulled her bow off her shoulder and grabbed an arrow from her quiver. Knocking it, she drew the string slightly, readying it to be fired at a second’s notice. As the riders drew ever nearer her arm began to quiver slightly from the strain, but still she held the string taught. Finally, the birds reached the cliff and set down, one before and one behind Sesshomaru and Kagome on the path, effectively boxing them in.

The rider of the larger of the two youkai dismounted, and walked towards them. The man was nearly as tall as Sesshomaru and his long, black hair was pulled into a high ponytail on the back of his head that protruded through a hole in the back of his gleaming silver helmet. He cut an imposing figure in a full suite of armor, plate of shining silver and leather black as midnight, it gleamed in the setting sun. His aura was fully cloaked and though she could feel almost nothing from him, Kagome had little doubt that the man before her was a youkai. As he approached, he flipped open his visor, revealing a pair of stunning blue eyes, like two flames that burned in the shadow of his helm.

Those eyes passed quickly over Kagome and settled on Sesshomaru; obviously she was not the center of attention in this situation. That suited her just fine. Kagome lowered her bow and released the tension in the string, however, she did not put the arrow back in her quiver.

“Greetings travelers.” His voice was deep, though slightly muffled behind the helmet “What business brings you to our fortress?”

 “We seek audience with the Lady Hoshiko, in regards to a matter of great urgency.” Sesshomaru replied, coolly.

“And who are you to presume that lady Hoshiko would grant you an audience?” The rider asked, crossing his arms over his chest. The other rider behind them dropped to the ground as well, though he did not step away from his mount.

“I am Lord Sesshomaru. She will see us. He said after a significant pause.

_He’s probably not used to having to introduce himself,_ she thought, _must be nice when everyone knows your name._

“The Sesshomaru, lord of the Western Lands?” There was an edge to the man’s voice that had not been there before and his body was suddenly tense. His arms uncrossed and he rested one hand on the hilt of the sword he wore at his hip.

“Hn.” His eyes were narrowed slightly at the rider, “And who are you to presume to question this Sesshomaru’s presence here?”

“I am Ren, the captain of Lady Hoshiko’s guard and it is my duty to insure that her valuable time is not wasted on trivialities. What _exactly_ is it that you wish to speak to speak to her about?”

 “She once allied with the former lord of the Western Lands in order to defeat an exceptionally powerful youkai, one who seems to have reappeared to devastate these lands once more.”

Ren considered his words for a minute, before nodding, “Very well. We shall escort the both of you to the fortress where we shall see if Hoshiko-sama is inclined to grant you audience.”

Despite the fact that his words were civil, his tone was not at all friendly. The two youkai had subtly maneuvered their bodies into opposing stances and there was a tension building in the air as their youki clashed. The combined energy made Kagome’s head ache and her skin felt as if it were receiving tinny pulses of electricity.

Unconsciously, her powers flared, pushing at the youki, which was filling the atmosphere. Both men’s heads turned to look at her and Kagome blushed. Suddenly, Ren’s whole demeanor changed. The anger slid completely out of his stance and one of his eyebrow’s raised. He stepped around Sesshomaru and bowed formally to her.

“Forgive my rudeness, lady miko.” He said, straightening. His voice had taken on a warmer, friendlier tone as he spoke to her. His blue eyes swept over her in a leisurely manner and she saw them crinkle slightly at the corners as he smiled under the helm. “It is my duty to ascertain whether or not visitors to the fortress pose a threat or not, however I should not have ignored your presence. Might I have the privilege of knowing your name?”

“I’m Kagome.” She was slightly flustered under his stare; the way he was looking at her reminded her of the way Koga had looked at her when he had taken her to his cave.

_Oh no,_ she though, _this can’t be good._

“Lady Kagome it is an honor to meet you.” Ren said, “Will you allow me to bring you to the fortress?”

“Sure?” She really didn’t have any particular desire to be escorted anywhere by Ren, but she had no idea what proper etiquette dictated in this situation and she could not afford to make a faux pas that would damage their chances of getting Hoshiko’s help. Kagome glanced over at Sesshomaru; he was looking at her with an expression that made her heart go cold. She had to remind herself that she was not going to let Sesshomaru’s desires dictate her actions any longer.

So she put her arrow back into the quiver, slung her bow over her back, and allowed Ren lead her over to the golden bird youkai. She pointedly avoided looking in Sesshomaru’s direction again as Ren lifted her up so that she could clamber onto the bird’s feathery back. Ren climbed up behind her, and without a word, their mount turned and launched itself into the air. The other guardsman and Sesshomaru took to the air after them and together they headed towards the fortress.

She tensed minutely when Ren wrapped his arms around her waist, to hold her steady.

“If it would make you more comfortable, you may grab a hold of some of his feathers; he will not mind.” He spoke into her ear, over the rush of the wind.

Kagome did just that and held of for dear life. The feathers were soft and warm, and admittedly quite pleasant to the touch. As they flew, she could not help but compare the experience with the last time she had flown somewhere. During both times, she had been held in a man’s arms, however when she had flown with Sesshomaru there had been a low fluttering in her stomach that had absolutely nothing to do with the fear of falling out of the sky. Flying with Ren was not exactly unpleasant, but the bird’s flapping wings jerked them up and down and she could not derive any comfort simply from Ren’s presence.

She attempted to distract herself by watching the ground beneath them. The snow covered the land in a thick blanket of white, occasionally broken by a grouping of trees or a small stream winding like a snake across the flat terrain. The bird youkai flew fast and within a relatively short time, they were approaching the outer walls that surrounded the fortress and its village.

“Welcome to Yasumidokoro.” Ren said as they began to circle lower and lower over the settlement.

“Is that the name of the fortress?” She asked him, not bothering to turn around to face him; his youkai hearing would allow him to pick up her words, even despite the wind’s most valiant efforts to blow them away.

“Yes, though most do not use it; Lady Hoshiko’s fame eclipses any slight renown that Yasumidokoro has gained over the yeas.”

Despite the snow, Kagome could see figures out and about moving amongst the buildings. They made one final circle over the village, so close that Kagome could have nearly touched the rooftops, they flew straight and finally touched down in the wide, clean swept courtyard in front of the entrance to the castle.

Ren slid easily off of the youkai’s back, then helped Kagome down. She glanced around, taking in their surroundings. The fortress itself was massive. Carved out of the gray stone of the mountains, it was two stories high and it ran for quite some distance in either direction that she looked.

In the air, Kagome felt a strange humming sensation, almost as if the very atmosphere of the fortress held an electric charge. It made her skin feel tingly and her heart rate jumped.

Sesshomaru and the other guard touched down in the courtyard seconds after Kagome had dismounted and they both moved towards Ren and herself as two men rushed forwards to collect their mounts. They each bowed formally to the group before leading the giant birds away.

“Would you rather freshen up first, or head straight to the audience chamber?” Ren asked.

Kagome glanced at Sesshomaru, who now wore a completely blank look. She would normally have been inclined to freshen up first, as the wind had thrown her hair into disarray and she was positive that her clothing looked rumpled, however the very serious urgency of the trip had reasserted itself the minute they had come into sight of Yasumidokoro.

_We have to get Hoshiko’s help to defeat the Well Youkai so that I can go home fast; I have been here to long._

“We shall see Hoshiko-sama first.” Sesshomaru said imperiously; he was apparently thinking along the same lines as she.

Ren looked to Kagome, who nodded her head in agreement. “We really do need to speak with her as soon as possible.”

“Then come this way.” He turned on his heel and began to head towards the castle.

The interior of the building was not what Kagome expected at all. For some reason, she had thought that the castle would be more ornate, however the walls along the corridor were bare, save for the lanterns, which hung there for illumination. As the walked, Kagome surreptitiously peeked into any of the rooms who’s shoji screens were not shut. Most of them were nearly as austere as the hallway, the predominant form of decoration being long wall scrolls. It seemed that everything else about the castle was purely functional without a wasted thought for adornment.

The only noise that accompanied them during their long walk was the sound of their footsteps and the soft swishing of their clothing. The castle itself was nearly silent, and it made Kagome shiver a little. She had been imagining Hoshiko as a warm, caring person- a reasonable assumption, seeing as how Hoshiko had chosen to risk her life on a regular basis for the sake of others- but the feel of her home- and the memory of Saku’s warning- made Kagome wonder if her imaginings had been completely off point. Nerves made her stomach clench.

The other thing that was making her uneasy was the fact that the humming was growing stronger with every step that she took. It did not seem evil, but it was so powerful, that it made her feel small, weak and helpless. She instinctively pulled Sesshomaru’s pelt tighter around her body, as if it would protect her.

Finally they reached a set of shoji with a pair of guardsmen on either side. They bowed to Ren and pulled the doors open to reveal a large, open room with a chair at one end and a long row of cushions along the other two walls not occupied by the entrance.

Seated in the chair was a tall woman, dressed in a blue Kimono so pale that it nearly matched the snow outside. Her long hair was a waterfall of pearl gray that shone in the lamplight.

_It looks like starlight,_ Kagome thought.

The humming in the air emanated from the woman seated before them, and Kagome knew immediately that she could be no one other than Hoshiko. The miko’s eyes were the same uncanny, piercing blue as Ren’s and they made Kagome shiver when they landed on her.

She looked them over in silence and then she beckoned them forwards and, following Ren’s lead, the group stepped into the room. He led them towards Hoshiko until they stood just in front of the chair, then he dropped to the floor in a formal bow. When he rose again, he removed his helmet and Kagome had to stifle a gasp. With his face uncovered, Ren and Sesshomaru could have been twins with different coloring. They had the same long faces and high cheekbones, accompanied by mouths that were just shy of being feminine. And high on Ren’s aristocratic brow was the half-moon crest of the western inuyoukai.

“I come accompanying Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands and the miko, Lady Kagome, who travels with him. They seek audience with you; will you grant it to them or do you wish for me to send them away?”

Hoshiko studied them in silence for a minute, then looked to Ren. “I shall hear them.” Her words were clear and soft, but commanding nonetheless; she had the type of voice that did not need to be raised in order to assert authority.

Kagome was still reeling from the shock of Ren’s appearance, but that was completely eclipsed by the next words that left his mouth.

 “As you wish, mother.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I clarified some stuff this this chapter and give Kagame a little more agency. I wanted to write her song and I didn't like how little she actually did under her own steam and not just because ~feelings~ in the original version of this.


	9. Sacrilege

Silence hung heavy in the audience chamber, following Ren’s proclamation. Kagome could not believe that she had actually just heard a man who was so obviously a pure-blooded youkai refer to the icy miko before them as ‘mother’.  But his hair was black and his aura _was_ shielded… Kagome’s mind reeled; there were too many coincidences and contradictions knocking around inside one person for all of the alarm bells in Kagome’s brain _not_ to be going off.

“What?” She finally creaked, breaking the silence that hung like a death-shroud over the room.

A fraction of a second later, Sesshomaru turned to Ren. “Explain.” He commanded in a voice that was hard as cold steel and brooked no argument.

Kagome half expected Hoshiko to purify him for speaking to her son in that manner, but instead a flare of power snapped through the room like the crack of a whip, and Ren stumbled back a step.

He gasped with pain and dropped to one knee. The expression on his face was defiant indignation.

“Your behavior is unbecoming, Ren,” She narrowed her eyes on her son, “I was unaware that I had raised you to disobey my direct orders.”

She gestured dismissively at her son, “Your presence is no longer needed here. Retire to your quarters; we shall be speaking later.” The disapproval in her voice was so heavy that Kagome almost felt guilty just hearing it; she could not imagine being the recipient of such a reprimand.

Questions swarmed Kagome’s mind, each one clamoring louder than the last for an answer; she looked between the enthroned woman and the chastened youkai– or was he a hanyou– and her mind spun.

Ren’s face was blank as he rose to his feet, bowed formally and turned sharply to leave the room. As soon as his footsteps had faded from hearing, Hoshiko looked at the second guard. “Lieutenant Saito, we shall be adjourning to my private gardens shortly; would you see to it that tea is brought to us there?” Saito, too, bowed then exited the room.

Hoshiko’s piercingly blue eyes fixed on Sesshomaru’s face, which was wearing an expression that Kagome recognized well as pure, unadulterated rage. She had seen it before, the first time they had met, when she and Inuyahsa had taken Tetsusaiga from him.

Hoshiko stared at the taiyoukai for a long moment, mouth tightening slightly. “You have by now, no doubt guessed what Ren’s aura shield was concealing, and for the manner in which his true nature was revealed to you, I am deeply apologetic.”

“Despite his outward appearance, Ren is a hanyou, and my son,” here her eyes drifted to Kagome and she inclined her head slightly, “which no doubt raises some other questions for you as well; I shall do my best to clarify this situation for the both of you in due time.”

Hoshiko stood and stepped away from her chair. The silk of her blue kimono rustled as she moved. “Come,” she said imperiously, “we have much to discus and there are better places to do so than this room.”

Kagome thought that Sesshomaru might object, might demand answers right that second, without standing on ceremony, but he did not.

They followed her out of the room, through a door behind the chair, which Kagome had not noticed when they had come in. Surreptitiously, she snuck a glance at Sesshomaru. His face had been schooled into the same blank mask as Ren had worn when he made his exit, and again, she was astounded by the similarities between the two men.

_He and Ren look more like each other than he and Inuyasha; he must be furious at his father right now at the indignity of this; for Sesshomaru to have not just one but_ two _illegitimate half brothers has to be such a slap in the face._

The part of the castle through which they were walking now, was slightly more ornamented than what she had seen before, but the lack of extravagance still baffled Kagome. Neither Hoshiko nor her home were what she had been envisioning for the entirety of their journey and she was not sure that she preferred the reality of either to the fantasy that she had built up in her head.

_There is no warmth here,_ she realized miserably. Kagome was the type of person who thrived on warmth and happiness and without it she could feel herself wilting like a flower in the shade.

They came to a set of shoji at the end of the hall and when Hoshiko opened them, Kagome’s breath caught in her throat. Before them sat a small open-air garden that, while covered in snow, was filled with life. Birds fluttered from branch to branch of the elegant trees, whose branches still held all their leaves and flowers. A small stream bubbled along happily beside a clean swept gravel path and Kagome could see fat koi fish winding their way lazily through the clear water. A small wooden pavilion sat in the center of the round garden and it was there that Hoshiko led them. A fire crackled in a brazier and three cushions lay around it, each one with a steaming cup of tea sitting before it. The air here was cool, however it was not the bitter cold of the rest of the countryside.

The elder miko situated herself gracefully on one of the cushions, then gestured for Kagome and Sesshomaru to do the same. The silence hung in the air for a few more minutes until Sesshomaru broke it.

“Explain.” He said, echoing his command from earlier.

Kagome picked up her teacup, cradling it in her hands to warm her fingers as she looked between Hoshiko and her traveling companion.

The silver haired woman gave a gentle nod. “Let me begin by asking you what you know of my battle with the youkai from so long ago- and yes, I do know what your purpose for coming here is; I have been anticipating that you would be coming to me for quite some time now, the miko however, is a surprise. Though, she is a welcome one.”

Hoshiko’s lips lifted slightly as she looked in Kagome’s direction.

“This Sesshomaru, like all others, is familiar with the tale of your partnership with my lord father; alone neither of you was powerful enough to defeat the youkai which was running rampant through the lands, slaughtering it denizens indiscriminately. You forged an alliance and together you were able to overpower the youkai and expel it from these lands.” He said as if quoting a textbook he had read many times.

Hoshiko nodded. “You are correct in all but one thing. I never allied with your father.”

“Impossible.” He sated flatly, “How do you propose to explain the existence of your son, had you not allied with him?”

Kagome shifted in her seat watching the interplay between the two individuals before her; she was so incredibly out of her depth in every sense of the word. The level of power being radiated by the miko and the taiyoukai was so tremendous that she felt like she was being smothered. But beyond even that, the intricacies of their conversation- their civil, yet highly tense dialogue about honest to god legends that they were in their own ways a part of- were so complex that she was totally lost.

“I have, of course, heard the story of my battle many times. The words that are used to describe my ally are always ‘the Great Inu Youkai’ and that is true. I did ally with him, however what almost no one knows is the fact that once, there was more than one Great Inu Youkai.” she looked Sesshomaru dead in the eyes, “There was your father, Lord Touga, and his older brother, my mate, Takeshi.”

Kagome heard the delicate cup, which Sesshomaru had been holding in his right hand, break. She didn’t even bother trying to hide the fact that she was watching him, now.

“This Sesshomaru’s uncle, Lord Takeshi,” he said in a frigid voice, “died in battle many centuries ago.”

Hoshiko sighed and set her cup down. “That is not so, though it is by his own choice that the world believes he did. Tell me Sesshomaru, what happened to your father when he became involved with Izayoi-san?”

He paused for a moment, caught off guard, then replied, “She became an immediate weakness for him, one that his enemies exploited to the fullest.”

The miko raised a pale eyebrow at him, and continued. “That was nearly three hundred years after the time in which Takeshi and I met.”

“At the time the Western Lands were in such a state of unrest that any sign, no matter how minuscule, that the Lord was at all vulnerable, would set the youkai beneath him into revolt. When Takeshi took me to mate, he knew that in doing so he would be as good as forfeiting his own life as well as mine, had he chosen to remain the Lord of the Western Lands. So he made a request of your father in exchange for our service in driving back the great youkai from his lands.”

“He asked him to spread the rumor of his death and take his place in the story, didn’t he?” Kagome did not realize that she had spoken until the words left her mouth. When both Hoshiko and Sesshomaru turned sharply to look at her, she shrank down in Sesshomaru’s pelt, wishing that she could grab the words and pull them back inside of her.

_Why did I do that?_ She berated herself, _This is not my conversation._

But Hoshiko’s face took on a vaguely thoughtful look and she nodded to Kagome.

“Indeed; Takeshi chose me over his title and together we went into hiding. Unfortunately, my name had gained so much renown and my power had grown so vast, that it was impossible for me to simply vanish. We built Yasumidokoro and have lived here ever since.” She turned once more to Sesshomaru, “So you see, my children- Ren and his sister Miyako- are not your half siblings; they are your cousins.”

There was silence once more in the clearing, save for the soft noises of the stream and the birdsong in the frozen trees. Time crept by with infinite slowness.

“So this Sesshomaru,” the words were as icy as the air around them, “is not the true Lord of the Western Lands.”

Kagome felt her breath catch in her throat; though there was little that Sesshomaru actually valued, one of those things was his title and responsibilities as the Lord of the Western Lands. She could not imagine him giving that up for anything, yet he was also a man of extreme honor; should Hoshiko tell him that he was indeed _not_ the Lord, he would find himself caught between doing what was honorable and surrendering the title, and the purpose that he had dedicated his entire life to; ruling the Western Lands.

“No,” Hoshiko shook her head, “you are. Takeshi renounced his title and therefore his children’s titles as well.”

Sesshomaru nodded slowly, though his expression gave no clue as to the nature of his private thoughts.

“If you are still alive, then Takeshi-sama must be as well; no human could live this long without a true mate bond to a taiyoukai of great power.”

Hoshiko drew back one sleeve and reached for the teapot, which sat beside her. She refilled her cup silently before answering.

“My mate is indeed still alive. When I felt your presence approaching, I requested that he conceal his youki so as to let me explain things properly. I had intended to broach the subject delicately and in a much less abrupt manner, however Ren’s little act of rebellion earlier made that impossible.

“He wishes to speak to you, though; the two of you have much to discuss...” She trailed off, looking towards the path that led to the pavilion.

“And I have waited a very long time to meet you, Sesshomaru.”

Kagome and Sesshomaru’s heads snapped to the left to look at the newcomer to the gathering, just as a towering wave of youki, which had been previously concealed, washed into the clearing with the force of a typhoon.

The man standing before them was dressed in traditional armor of the same sort that the skeleton of Inuyasha and Sesshomaru’s father had worn. Long white hair hung loose down his back and his build was roughly the same as Sesshomaru’s. His face was more angular, though, and the stripes along each cheek were a deep indigo.  

His golden eyes were focused on Sesshomaru and his face was as unreadable as the latter’s.

_God, it’s like someone set up a funhouse mirror and this whole fortress is just full of freaky Sesshomaru clones._ The thought came unbidden to Kagome and despite the tense nature of the situation she almost laughed.

Sesshomaru stood as the Taiyoukai approached. They looked each other over before Takeshi nodded once.

“You look like him.” He said.

“As do you.” Sesshomaru replied.

Kagome had not really been expecting them to express boundless joy at their meeting, nor had she expected anger or disdain, but all the same, their complete lack of emotional response to this turn of events was unfathomable to her. The only things she had ever seen him get positively emotional about were Rin and apparently herself.

Rin made sense; she was as good as Sesshomaru’s daughter. She on the other hand… She shivered.

_Is it possible that his feeling for me really run that deep? Could he actually be…_ She felt cold sweat breaking out across her body as she stared at Seshomaru with wide eyes.

Suddenly Takeshi smirked slightly. “You also remind me very strongly of your mother, Lady Satomi. Come; I would talk with you for a time, nephew.”

Sesshomaru’s eyes slid flashed to Kagome for a second, before he nodded and stepped towards Takeshi.

Kagome wanted to call out to him, to keep him from leaving. She felt so helpless and despite the fact that she was still conflicted insofar as her feelings for Sesshomaru, she could not bear the idea of being separated from him just then. But he was already walking away from her so she held her tongue.

As the two taiyoukai departed from the garden, quiet reigned once more.

“Are you afraid of me, Kagome-san?” Hoshiko’s soft voice broke the silence.

“I-” She thought about it for a minute; the elder miko’s power were vast and her personality was commanding, but there was no malice in the woman’s aura, “no, but you make me nervous, Lady Hoshiko.”

She looked down at the empty teacup in her hands.

“You are honest.” The miko said appraisingly, “That is a valuable quality and one that not many people, even those possessing spiritual powers, have. Tell me, how is it that you came to be traveling with Sesshomaru? Your words and your accent are strange, as are your manners.”

At that, Kagome flushed with embarrassment; Hoshiko probably thought that she was very rude.

“I’m… actually never sure how to tell anyone how it is that I actually came to _be_ here.” Kagome fiddled with a loose thread on her kimono.

“I shall hazard a guess then; tell me if I am wrong.” Hoshiko folded her delicate hands in her lap, “You are from somewhere very far from here both in terms of time and space, and you were pulled here by the youkai you seek my help to vanquish. Correct?”

Kagome gaped at her, and then shut her mouth, not wanting to appear rude. “How did you know?”

“Because that is what that particular youkai does. It cuts holes in the fabric of time and absorbs the power that rushes in to fill those holes; a side effect of that process seems to be the fact that it sometimes pulls things through time and deposits them in the wrong place. When it was last here, Takeshi and I battled with it for days. We injured it gravely but could not kill it. Eventually we drove it back into the latest hole that it had cut, at the bottom of a well.” A knowing gleam appeared in the older miko’s eyes when she saw Kagome start, “You came through that well, did you not?”

She nodded mutely.

“Tell me what it is that you want from me; why did you come on this journey?” Hoshiko asked suddenly.

“We want you to help us defeat the Well Youkai.” She replied.

“Do you know what that means?”

That brought Kagome up short; somehow it had never crossed her mind to ask Sesshomaru what, exactly, Hoshiko could do to help them.

“You are naïve.” Hoshiko’s lips drew themselves into a thin line, “I battled this youkai once before, and beneath this kimono I still bear the scars from it. I am old and I am weary and while this youkai is terrible, it does not threaten me or mine within this fortress.

“Neither I nor my mate owe any favors to yourself of Sesshomaru, and all of our dues to his late father have been paid back over time. So I ask you, why should I once again put my life at risk to battle this creature?” Her voice was as cold as her eyes and horror crept slowly through Kagome, like poison.

She licked her suddenly dry lips. _Has all of this been for nothing?_ She wondered, staring at the woman before her.

The wind picked up slightly within the clearing and Kagome felt the hum of Hoshiko’s powers ratchet up a level. Her own aura swirled to life within her as anger began to replace shock and disbelief.

“So what you’re saying,” Kagome began carefully, in a low voice, “is that you will not help us defeat this youkai, despite the fact that you yourself have admitted that it is a horrible creature who will only bring pain and suffering?”

There was a roaring sound that was rising in Kagome’s ears like a swarm of furious wasps; this woman dared to call herself a miko? Power crackled along her skin in tiny pink sparks; Kagome was unsure if she had ever been this angry in her entire life. The one being who could help her save the life of not only her family, but countless people in this era as well, was as good as telling her that she had absolutely not intention of doing so.

“That is indeed what I am saying.” Hoshiko replied serenely.

“I can’t believe how selfish you are being.” Kagome said hotly, “I have no formal miko training _at all_ , I never took a single vow, I _never_ signed up for any of the things that I’ve been through, but you know what? I have never once turned away from someone who asked for my help, or let someone suffer when there was something that I could do for them.

“You want to talk about scars? I’m covered in them. I have them on my skin and I have them in my heart. I may not even be a fraction of your age, but I have a hundred times your compassion. If you won’t help us then we have no business here.” With that she turned on her heels, sending out her powers, searching for Sesshomaru.

Then she heard a tiny, tinkling laugh; like crystal breaking. “Sit down, Kagome.”

Kagome paused and half-turned back to the blue clad miko, who wore a tiny smile on her face, thought there was no real humor in her expression; in fact, Hoshiko’s blue eyes were sad.

“You misinterpreted my words, though,” she inclined her head, “I mislead you on purpose.”

Confusion caused Kagome to furrow her brow. “What do you mean? You said that you wouldn’t help us defeat the youkai; there’s not very much that could be misleading about that.”

Hoshiko shook her head. “I will not help you defeat it, but that does not mean that I will not train you to defeat it yourself. I had to see how serious you were about this.” She too rose and came around the fire to stand before Kagome. She reached out and placed a finger beneath Kagome’s chin, raising her face to stare directly into her own. “You wish to return home, once you have defeated the youkai, do you not?”

“I have to; my family is stuck on the other side of the well, and on the slim possibility that they have not been killed while I’ve been here, I have to go home and save them.” A tear rolled down Kagome’s cheek; in that moment she became very aware that close to two weeks had passed, leaving her family surrounded by youkai on all sides. The chance that they were all still alive and unharmed dwindled with every day that Kagome spend in the Sengoku Jidai. If the demons did not get them then starvation very well could. They had a very well-stocked pantry and Kagome’s mother was good at stretching food through the hard times, but still… that would not last forever.

Hoshiko nodded. “It is fortuitous that the two of you arrived together. Had he not, another miko would have been required to take his place and the only one I know of who even comes near to touching your powers is both far away and unsuited for other reasons. That is all irrelevant, however, as you are here.

“You have the ability to defeat this youkai, however the price that you will pay in order to do so will be a devastating one indeed. There is a choice that you will be forced to make, you and Sesshomaru-san as well, and your decision will have consequences that will haut the both of you for the rest of your lives.”

“What choice is that?” Kagome managed to choke out around the sudden dread that was filling her body.

The miko shook her head, silvery hair rippling in the light. “We have talked enough for right now; and that question is best left for another time.” She dropped her hand. “Come, I shall see you to the quarters you will occupy while you are here.”

Kagome wanted to argue with Hoshiko, to force her to explain her cryptic statement, but she could not force the words past her lips. Curiosity and terror warred within her, and eventually terror won out. She followed after the older woman, drawing Sesshomaru’s pelt in close about her. She wished desperately in that moment that she could run to him, bury her face in his chest and forget that the rest of the word existed. She longed for the safety of his arms and the warmth that his attentions had fanned to life within her.

As Kagome trailed behind Hoshiko through the barren corridors of the castle, the older miko’s ominous words ran through her head on repeat. She knew that she had a duty and an obligation, but if the price was a steep as Hoshiko had said, when it came time, could she actually go through with it?

~

_In the darkness, the youkai raged silently; the useless minions it had sent after the miko and the taiyoukai had failed in their task, and not only that, but their blunder had alerted the pair to reach of the creature’s power. That was a critical error that jeopardized everything that they youkai was working towards._

_Once before the youkai had faced a pair of a similar nature and that time it had managed to escape with its life, despite the devastating injuries that it had sustained. Hundreds of years had passed while it had waited to recover from the wounds and it did not plan on spending any more time laying low._

_So the youkai gathered its power and strength about iself like armor and crawled out of the darkness once more. The barrier around its lair put up some resistance but it could not hold for long and with a slash of one of it’s many clawed limbs, the youkai burst through the barrier and began its march across the land._

_This time it would not fail._


	10. Mine

Hoshiko left her alone in a guest bedroom, with a solemn nod of her head and a promise to speak with her later.

“I know that you still have questions, Kagome, but I too must speak with my mate and Sesshomaru.” She said, with a small half-smile, “We have waited a long time to meet him; it is only a shame that it was under these circumstances. I would include you in this, however I fear these conversations are private in nature and if Sesshomaru wishes to fill you in on the details he will doubtless do so.”

Kagome nodded, but she could not find it within herself to return Hoshiko’s attempt at cheerfulness. Worry clawed at her chest like a wild animal and she could not shake the sick feeling that had settled in the center of her stomach.

The older miko slid open the shoji screen, and stepped through, turning back to speak to Kagome as she crossed the threshold.

“The servants have been by,” She turned back to Kagome, “there is a bath and apropriate clothing waiting for you. I imagine that it must have been difficult for you to get properly clean while you were traveling.”

Embarrassed, Kagome glanced down at her clothing. The hakama were threadbare and frayed at the bottoms, her once white kimono was a dingy gray color, and her hair hang lifelessly over her shoulders, despite the fact that she had rinsed it out the night before in the Neko youkai cave. She grimaced and looked at Hoshiko.

“Do I really look that bad?”

The older miko raised an eyebrow slightly at her, and Kagome flushed. “You will most certainly benefit from a bath and a change of clothing.” She nodded imperiously. “Get clean and rest for a while. We shall speak more this evening when you take dinner with the family.”

Kagome watched Hoshiko walk away from her with mixed feelings. Part of her was grateful to be away from the older miko; the sheer force of her power was nearly oppressive and her cold personality did not do anything to help. Another part of her wanted to scream at her to come back and to begin training her that very second. The fear for her family had only intensified since her confrontation with Hoshiko earlier and she was growing tired of waiting for things to happen. However she reigned in the impulse to voice her desires; she had already lost her temper at her once before and she did not thing that Hoshiko would take kindly to it happening a second time.

Desperate for distraction, Kagome examined her surrounds. Unlike most of the palace that Kagome had seen so far, the room that she entered was not plain and undecorated at all. The walls were decorated with several intricately painted scrolls and the freestanding shoji screen that divided the space was painted with elegant cranes taking flight from the branches of tree. In the center of the side of the room that she could see, lay a tatami mat, neatly covered by three beautiful kimono; the one on the top was a deep purple, stitched with a subtle silver geometric pattern that reminded her strongly of the designs on Sesshomaru’s haori. The next kimono was a pale lavender robe and the third was plain white. Folded neatly beside the kimonos was a pale blue, silk obi.

“Wow.” she whispered as she bent to look at the garments. They were easily the finest kimonos that she had ever been offered to wear, and certainly far more luxurious than anything she had ever owned. She set about unwrapping Sesshomaru’s pelt, slipping her bow, quiver and pack off of her back, and then she walked over to the painted screen, curious as to what was behind it. When she came around the corner, her face broke into a true smile for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

A giant wooden bathtub took up most of the space behind the screen, and Kagome wasted no time at all in stripping off her clothing, unwinding her bandage, and stepping over the edge of the tub and into the deliciously hot water. She settled in with a shiver of delight and let out a heartfelt, happy sigh.

 _I’ve died and gone to heaven,_ she thought blissfully, as all of the aches of travel and the tension of stress began to fade. For a few minutes she simply soaked in the tub, laying still and simply listening to the sound of her own breathing. Steam rose from the tub settling in fine droplets on her skin and in her hair. When she had finally absorbed enough warmth, she dunked her head under the water, smoothing her hands back through her hair, to make sure that it all got thoroughly soaked. Holding her breath, she ran her fingers through the strands, untangling knots as she went. Finally, when the need to breathe become overwhelming, she broke the surface once more.

Wiping the water away from her eyes, she let out another deep sigh. While bathing in the river the night before had been better than nothing, it was incomparable to bathing in a proper bathtub with heated water. After twisting her hair up and out of the way, Kagome hoisted herself up slightly and reached over the edge of the bath and grabbed the cake of soap that sat near the tub’s base. She had been expecting it to be the harsh lye soap that was used for everything from washing dishes to washing bodies, but she was pleasantly surprised to discover that this particular bar contained a medley of pleasantly scented herbs which, while they would do little to offset the sting of the soap, would at least keep her from reeking of lye. She lathered the soap onto her skin and scrubbed it until it was red. By the time she was done, a froth of soapsuds covered the surface of the water and Kagome felt that she had probably removed at least two layers of skin, but for the first time since she had fallen through the well, she felt truly clean. She carefully cleaned the cuts on her ribcage and was pleased to see that they had scabbed over and were healing nicely; the itching she had felt before was nothing more than the discomfort of her skin mending itself.

Kagome luxuriated in the warm bath water until most of the soap bubbles had disappeared and it began to cool to the point that it was no longer comfortable. She stood and climbed out of the basin, regretfully leaving behind the source of her temporary solace. She grabbed the towel that had been left for her and rubbed her body down with it, before wrapping it around her hair. Not wanting to get the beautiful kimonos from Hoshiko wet, she opted to dress herself in the cleaner of her two miko’s kimonos for the time being. Wandering back around the other side of the screen, she was surprised and slightly disturbed, to discover that while she had been soaking, someone had entered the room and left a tray bearing rice and fish as well as a pot of tea, and to her delight, a comb. It was an odd addition, but one that she was more the grateful for and she wasted no time in setting to work on her long hair.

As Kagome sat, knees legs folded beneath her, on the tatami returning her hair to it’s former state of soft, slightly wavy glory, she had a startling revelation; one that stilled her comb completely. It had been nearly a month since she had had her period. If she were still in the Sengoku Jidai when it came… she shuddered.

 _I really never appreciated just how good I had it, even when I was hunting Shikon shards; at least I had all my stuff with me_ , she thought bleakly, _I really wish that my backpack had made it through the well with me._

She truly did not like the idea of dealing with menstruation, in the feudal era without the things she had grown accustomed to in the modern world. She felt a pang of extreme sympathy for the women who lived their entire lives without the luxury of tampons.

Her train of thought was broken by a knock on the shoji that acted as a door to her room.

“Yes?” She asked, and the door slid open a small way to reveal Ren standing in the hallway outside. For half a second they simply stared at each other, both wide-eyed with surprise, before Kagome let out a yelp of embarrassment and drew her Kimono in closer around her. Her exclamation seemed to unfreeze Ren as well and he averted his eyes, though not before they ran from her still slightly damp hair all the way down to her knees, one of which peeked through the opening at the front of the kimono.

“Forgive me Kagome-san; had I known that you were not yet dressed I would not have entered.” He said, though the warmth of his voice and the small grin on his face both caused her cheeks to flush and told her that while she was certain hat he felt bad about the embarrassment that his intrusion had caused, that he was not feeling particularly unhappy that it had happened. “I will wait in the hall for you to finish dressing.”

“It might take me a bit,” she told him, “My hair’s still wet and I don’t want to ruin the kimonos.”

His smile widened slightly. “That is no issue. May I enter?”

“Uh… why?” She looked at him, suddenly wary and suspicious. _Wasn’t he just about to leave?_

“I am not much of a sorcerer, however whisking water away from your hair will be no issue.”

Kagome stood, holding the front of her kimono firmly shut and nodded. “I guess so.”

Ren walked into the room and his eyes returned themselves to her face. When he stood only a small distance from her, he reached out his hand and brushed it gently down the length of her midnight hair. To her astonishment, she felt the water that had previously made it cling to her, lifting away.

She looked up and offered him a smile. “That’s a pretty handy skill.”

Ren’s blue eyes twinkled in response. “You have lovely hair, Kagome-sama.” He told her, “And now I shall wait for you while you dress.”

He left the room, closing the shoji with a soft thud. Kagome ran her fingers through her hair experimentally; it was as soft and full of life as it had ever been. Smiling she set about clothing herself in the kimonos. When she got to the obi, she realized that it had been years since she had been forced to put one on by herself, and afraid of embarrassing herself by tying it poorly, she settled on the most simple knot that she knew.

Kagome wished that she had a mirror so that she could see herself in the outfit, but she felt beautiful simply because of the garments she wore, so she smiled and put on the white tabi that she had found lying beneath the kimonos. Padding to the door, she slid the screen open and looked at Ren, whose grin turned into a full-blown smile at the sight of her.

 “I did not think that anyone other than my mother could ever do that outfit justice, however you have managed to surpassed even her. However, do not tell her that I said so, for should you do so, I will deny it.”

Blushing yet again, Kagome giggled at him. Though she felt no attraction to Ren, he was a handsome man and his words were the sort of pleasant flattery that never failed to at least flatter her ego a little. She felt like a bit of a hypocrite, though, letting him flirt with her like that, she was leading him on, which was something that she had just determined was too awful to do to Sesshomaru.

 _Shut it down, Kagome._ She warned herself.

“Thank you for saying so, though I sincerely doubt that; your mother is stunning.” She slid the shoji shut behind her. “I’m sure you didn’t just come here to flatter me, though. What’s up?”

He looked towards the ceiling, brows furrowed in confusion, and she laughed; she had forgotten that her modern slang would probably make next to no sense to him. “It means what’s happening?”

“Nothing in particular other than that I wished to show you the town before dinner, as an apology for my behavior earlier. I would offer the same to Sesshomaru-san, but I fear that he is probably rather displeased with me at this point in time.” His eyes narrowed slightly and for a second he looked worried. “You two are not… involved, are you?”

Her face fell and she shook her head.

“Forgive me, I did not mean to cause you distress.” He said sincerely.

She shook her head. “Don’t worry. I’m not involved with anyone, nor am I looking to be.” She said, pointedly.

Ren shrugged his shoulders carelessly. “Ah, I thought that it might be too much to ask for a beautiful, unattached miko– who just so happened to be looking for a mate– to appear in my home.” He said with a rakish grin.

Kagome rolled her eyes at him. “Let’s go look at the town, okay?”

Ren led her through the house until they reached the front entrance. There, a servant greeted them with a pair of getta for Kagome. She slipped the shoes on her feet then turned to him.

“I’m really bad at wearing these on surfaces that aren’t completely smooth. I’m probably going to trip a lot while we’re walking. Especially with the snow on the ground.” She warned him.

He nodded to the servant as they stepped out into the courtyard. “The snow has been cleared from the pathways in town, however if it gets too difficult, we sill simply return to the castle. Or I could carry you in my arms, of course.”

“Oh give it a rest.” She said.

Wrapped as she was in three layers of kimono, the chill was bearable, though she tucked her hands into her sleeves to keep them warm. They walked side by side, going slowly so that Kagome could navigate her way across the uneven ground. Around them wooden buildings with slate roofs stood in neat lines and people wandered between the buildings, hurrying about their business. While they went Ren pointed out different shops or important buildings, and told Kagome about the founding of the fortress. As Kagome and Ren started along the main path that lead to the center of the village Kagome remembered something that had been bugging her ever since she had found out that Ren was Hoshiko’s son.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.” He replied.

Biting her lip, she said, “I hope this question isn’t too rude or invasive, but I was wondering why you look like a full-blooded youkai, even though you’re a hanyou. I knew another inu hanyou once, and he had little dog ears and no markings.”

Ren chuckled. “I was actually wondering how long it would take you to ask that.” He turned them down another small path and they found themselves walking through an open square where a group of children were running after each other, shrieking and giggling in delight. They stopped and waved at Ren and Kagome as they passed, and he waved back. “Are you all behaving?” He asked them with mock sternness.

“Of course, Captain Ren!” They replied in stereo, before they all devolved into laughter.

Walking on, Ren spoke to Kagome again. “When a regular human and a youkai have a child, the two species are so vastly different in terms of the levels of innate power, that their offspring often end up… warped. They tend to take after both of their parents in terms of looks, meaning that many hanyou look as if they are half transformed. However when it comes to power, though there are some hanyou who turn out to be very strong, the majority of them are left with human abilities and weaknesses. Does this make sense so far?” He looked at Kagome and she nodded.

He continued, “Now when a youkai and a human with spiritual power have a child, that child is the product of two beings whose levels of power are at least slightly closer, so the warping tends to be less. What happens every once in a while, though, is that when a youkai and an exceptionally powerful human- like my parents- have a child, that child will retain a great deal of power and usually a mainly human or mainly youkai appearance.”

Kagome looked him over critically and sent out a tendril of her power to push against his youki, testing it. “So for you, you got your father’s looks and a great deal of strength?”

“Mm, yes. Though I have human eyes, if you notice, they are the same as my mother’s.”

Kagome nodded. “You have a sister too, right?”

He nodded as they walked past a group of young women, who were sitting outside one of the buildings, folding clothes. Kagome was amused to hear a great deal of tittering coming from them. Ren gave them a grin and the tittering increased as a couple of them hid behind their sleeves.

“My sister Miyako is almost a century older than me.” He told her, “She is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum. She looks nearly human, however she will likely outlive me and she is a sorceress of, as far as I know, unrivaled power.”

Kagome’s eyebrows rose. “She’s that strong?”

Ren’s lips tightened. “Yes and no. She can manipulate the world around her to suit her purposes, but for some reason she is completely incapable of using her powers in a combat situation to do anything other than defend herself.”

“That has to make her pretty unhappy.” Kagome could remember the days when she was still all but incapable of doing anything of any use in a fight.

“Well,” said Ren, as he looked down the pathway, starting at nothing in particular, “She is _very_ good at defending herself. For the most part she wanders around helping people in need, though I think that my mother has probably called her home.”

As the sun sank low on the horizon and even began to fall in earnest, the two of them began to head back towards the palace. All around them, the town began to fill with small patches of light from fires and lanterns. Kagome glanced at Ren and felt a small shiver roll down her back, his eye were resting firmly on her.

“Kagome-san,” he said, taking her hand, “I do not know how much my mother has told you about what it to come if you take up the mantle of this quest, and I have no desire to be on the receiving end of another one of her scoldings, but I want you to remember one thing: I am just as strong as Sesshomaru-san and anything he can do, I can do as well.”

“What?” She snapped, “What on earth does _that_ have to do with _anything_?”

“Just remember it.” He said stonily.

She shook her head. “Just when I thought that _maybe_ you were capable of not acting like- like such a _guy_ and turning everything into a giant competition!” She walked off quickly, tripping her way back to the castle with a frown on her face. She stopped at the door and bent down to remove her getta. All of a sudden she felt a heavy and very familiar youki settle over her and she shivered. Raising her face she found herself looking up and into the golden eyes of Sesshomaru. Within them, there was still the glow of anger, however a myriad of other emotions flashed within them and the look on her face stole her breath.

“Miko.” Was all he said before he stepped forward, around her, and launched himself towards Ren, who was approaching the front door. Kagome barely turned in time to see Sesshomaru slam into the hanyou, driving him back at lightning speed until his back slammed into the far wall of the courtyard.

“Sesshomaru! Stop! What are you doing?” She cried, dashing across the courtyard as fast as she could in the getta. A wave of youki rolled off of him as his clawed hand wrapped itself around Ren’s throat. Though his face was still relatively impassive, his eye were bleeding red and the stripes on his cheeks were growing jagged.

“You _dare_ touch what belongs to this Sesshomaru, whelp?” He growled at the pinned man.

Ren’s own hand came up and took hold of Sesshomaru’s wrist and with a yank he freed himself. “And _you_ dare assume a claim on her when she has denied the existence of one?” His blue eyes blazed and with some effort he shoved Sesshomaru away, then drew his sword.

Sesshomaru mimicked the gesture, drawing Bakusaiga and the two men squared off.

“Your father has informed me that the only way to stop the creature that plagues these lands is through the creation of a bond.” Sesshomaru said in an icy voice, “And this Seshomaru is not fool enough to believe that you knew nothing of this and had no intentions of attempting to take my place in that bond. For glory, or power, or twisted revenge. I cannot understand the pathetic reasoning of one such as yourself and I will not try.”

The black haired hanyou narrowed his eyes at his cousin. “All I’m saying is that I think that it would be prudent to take Kagome-san’s opinion into count in a situation such as this.”

Sesshomaru’s eyes flashed. “She is _mine_.”

Kagome wanted to hit both of them; she wasn’t really sure what it was that they were talking about, but there was absolutely no doubt over the fact that they were fighting over her as if she were no more than a piece of property.

 _They cannot be serious!_ She raged, silently.

Ren moved first, dashing forwards to strike at Sesshomaru, who easily sidestepped the attack before turning to slice his own blade through the space that Ren’s arm had occupied only a second before. Their motions slipped into a dance that was as beautiful as it was deadly. The two beings, on dressed all in black, the other in white, circled and lunged and struck and blocked, swords flashing in the golden lantern light.

Around them, the courtyard had filled with servants and townspeople who had all come, drawn by the sounds of combat. Their frantic muttering and yelling filled the air and Kagome felt her chest constricting.

“Stop it!” She yelled at the two of them, running forwards. It was a stupid, desperate move, but she could only hope that perhaps her presence might force them to cease their fight.

Just as she drew even with them a powerful throb filled her head. She tripped and clutched at her temples as pain roared through her. Kagome had enough time to think _‘not now!’_ before the second throb of pain sliced through her and the world went black.

_His lips ghosted across her skin at the juncture of her neck and shoulder, raising goosebumps in their wake. She couldn’t help the little whimper that was drawn from her mouth by the sensation. The answering growl was a vibration against her skin as one of his clawed hands slid from its position on the back of her neck, up her throat to tilt her head up. His warm breath puffed against her skin as his mouth continued its journey up her neck, pausing briefly to press against the spot just below her ear. When he nipped gently at the spot, another whimper escaped from her. Then the contact stopped and he lifted his head._

_She was just about to ask him why he had stopped when his lips crashed against her own and she felt the slow heat that had been burning low in her stomach come racing to life. With a desperate gasp, one of her hands reached up to grasp his shoulder, while the other tangled itself in his hair. His fangs scraped against the fullness of her lips prompting a gasp from her and his tongue swept between her parted lips, driving out all semblance of coherent thought. Shyly, her own tongue swept out to tangle with his and his growl of approval sent a jolt of heat through her body. The hand that remained on her legs traveled up to the curve of her hip._

_Breaking the kiss, his lips trailed across her cheek, until his mouth was pressed against her ear._

_“Say it.” His voice commanded softly. The words were accompanied by a tug on her earlobe by his teeth._

_“Say what?” She stammered as his teeth and tongue played havoc with her mind._

_“You are mine,” he growled against her skin, “now say it.”_

_“I-”_

She was being held in someone’s arms and there was a lot of white all around her. For a few seconds, that was all she knew, then she became aware of a number of different things all at once. The sounds of a disturbed crowd, the hum of Hoshiko’s powers, the crackle of several foreign youki's, the tingling warmth of Sesshomaru’s youki surrounding her, and then, as her vision cleared, the fact that she was being cradled in his arms and that his left shoulder and arm were covered with blood, which was pouring from the slash that she could see through his haori. Behind his back, she could see Ren clutching a bloodied sword in his hand, cringing as his father reprimanded him.

With trembling fingers, she reached out and touched Sesshomaru’s sleeve, before looking up into his burning golden eyes. And suddenly, it was as if a dam inside her heart broke. He had protected her a second time and been hurt a second time. There was no artifice about him; he did not broadcast his emotions like the rest of the world, but that did not mean that he did not have them, or that they were not just as real and as strong as anyone else’s. There was no lie about the fear that she could see flickering in his gaze.

“What were you thinking, miko?” He growled at her, brows creasing as he tightened his hold on her.

Her lips began to tremble and her eyes watered. Her heart yanked at her and it was pulling her in Sesshomaru’s direction. She was really so tired of trying to come up with reasons that she should not just give in. He obviously cared about her, despite the fact that she had been acting horribly to him and as far as the fact that she would have to go home; they could cross that bridge when they came to it.

With a sob she reached out and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, drawing his face near to hers.

“I am.” She whispered.

“You are what, miko?” he asked, voice pitched so that only she could hear.

“Yours.” She breathed. Then, regardless of the people milling about them, or the tears running down her cheeks, or the consequences of her actions, she pressed her lips to his.


	11. I Can't Stay

Sesshomaru was still for a fraction of a second before he buried his hand in her hair, cupping the back of her head, and his lips moved over hers, warm and firm. The kiss was brief and ended far too soon for Kagome’s tastes. But the second his lips left hers, they were moving very quickly through the air, as he took off from the courtyard, cradling her to his chest.

They landed once more in a small interior garden, different from the one they had visited earlier with Hoshiko, yet equally stunning. Kagome saw none of this; her eyes were focused solely on Sesshomaru. The second his feet touched the ground his lips crashed down on hers one more in a ferocious kiss that stole the breath from her lungs and caused her to gasp in surprise. He nipped at the fullness of her bottom lip and then swept his tongue out to sooth the sting.

Emboldened, Kagome slipped her own tongue out to tangle with his and he growled with approval as he plundered her mouth. She let out a small whimper and then just as suddenly as the kiss had started, it ended.

He set her down and took a small step away from her, hot golden gaze focused on her own eyes. He raised his the hand of his uninjured right arm to cup her cheek. His thumb brushed over her skin in an almost tender gesture, before he withdrew his hand once more and clenched it into a fist by his side.

“Did I-” she began, anxiety growing within her. Had she made a mistake?

“No, you have done nothing wrong. This Sesshomaru- _I_ ” he corrected himself, “would like nothing more than to continue what was started in the courtyard, however there is something we must discus first.” His jaw was set and his brows were slightly drawn, and Kagome realized that he was displaying more emotion in this one moment than she had ever seen before. “Come.” He took her hand and guided her to one of the doors that led out of the garden.

They stepped into a room similar to the one that Kagome inhabited and Sesshomaru slid the door shut behind him. Here eyes roamed around the room taking in the decorative scrolls and the unrolled futon in the center of the floor. He turned to her once more.

“Does this have something to do with this ‘bond’ or whatever it was that you and Ren were fighting over?” She asked, biting her lip and fiddling with the sleeves of her kimono in order to alleviate her nervousness.

“Indeed.” He told her. “When I spoke to both Lady Hoshiko and Lord Takeshi, they imparted upon me the secret to their defeat of the youkai.”

“What is it? And why did they tell you instead of me?” Kagome asked, though she was almost certain that she already knew.

“They bonded.” Kagome remained silent, waiting for him to elaborate and at her lack of reaction he continued. “Bonding is a sharing of souls, it is usually the first stage of the process of becoming a mated pair. And as for why they shared it with me first, they likely assumed that this conversation would be better had in private between us, rather than before an audience.”

At his words, Kagome swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. “How did a bond make them strong enough to defeat the youkai?”

Sesshomaru crossed his arms over his chest. “When a pair bonds, their souls are connected and the individual strength of both partners is connected and amplified. The more powerful the individual partners are, the more powerful the pair will become.”

“And what would this bond mean? You know… for us.”

“We would forever and inseparably be connected to one another, we would know each other more intimately than any other being on earth will ever be able to.”

Kagome worried her lip between her teeth. This is what Hoshiko had meant, when she had talked about the sacrifice that both Kagome and Sesshomaru would have to make.

“And if we bonded,” she stammered the word, “would I ever be able to go home?”

Shesshomaru’s eyes narrowed slightly. “If you did, you would damn yourself to a life spent searching for something to fill the rift left behind by the absence of my presence.” He did not need to add that she would do the same to him, but the look on his face told her everything that she needed to know. “That is why most bonded pairs are also mated pairs, as with a mated pair neither mate may stray from the other and neither mate will survive the passing of the other. It is the most ancient and by far the most powerful tie that can ever be made between two beings.”

Her heart beat double time. Right then she wanted to be with him, to share that bond with him. The ferocity of her emotions stunned and frightened Kagome, but she supposed that they had been a long time in coming. Saku and seen the connection between the two of them long before she had even considered the possibility of anything more than perhaps an odd friendship with Sesshomaru. It had happened slowly over the time that they had spent together; the little touches, the small kindnesses, the growing respect that she saw in his eyes, the flashes of passion that peppered their interactions, and the end result was deep and powerful.

“I- would you want to bond with me if it were not the only way for us to defeat the youkai?” She looked at him, her eyes wide and uncertain. She knew that he had been courting her, after a fashion, but while another youkai might have been able to thoroughly understand his actions, she was unsure if she was interpreting them right.

Sesshomaru moved towards her. “You foolish woman, have I not made my intentions clear enough?”

She flushed and her heart skipped a few beats as the butterflies in her stomach went wild. “I’m human, Sesshomaru; I need words.”

“Of course I would.”

She was still horribly conflicted- the only way for her to return home was to form a bond that would tie her eternally to them man who made her wish that she could stay- but in that moment, she was nothing other than a woman who was truly and completely in love.

Closing her eyes Kagome sought deep within herself, searching for an answer and coming up empty. She exhaled deeply. “Can you give me a little time to think?” She asked him.

A heavy frown darkened Sesshomaru’s face. “You do not wish to bond with me?”

“No, no! Not at all!” She backtracked, as a flush darkened her cheeks. “I want very much to, but this isn’t a decision that I can make lightly.” Her eyes grew serious, “I have to go home, when this is over… I would have to damn both of us to that empty existence.”

“Why?” he asked in a harsh voice as his golden eyes flashed dangerously in the lantern light. “Why must you return to that place? Once we have slain the youkai, can you not satisfy yourself with a life at my side?”

Frustration curled her hands into fists at her side.

“Because that’s what I promised my mother that I would do! The whole reason I’m here is so that I can defeat this thing and go home to help them, even though the chance of them being alive has diminished every single day that I’ve been here!” She said, her voice rising in volume with every word as tears sprang to her eyes. She wiped them away, refusing to succumb to her desire to break down completely. “Could you make me break a vow to my mother? Would you really do that to me?”

He was silent for a while and she held her breath, waiting for his answer. Her mind whispered that if he said yes, that she still had one more option… there was another man who could stand in Sesshomaru’s place if he could not be the man that she needed him to. Ren’s words from earlier, his reminder that he was just as strong as his cousin, rang in her head, taunting her. The last thing that she wanted was to be tied like that to anyone but Sesshomaru.

His answer was so quiet and low that it was almost a whisper, however in the silence of the room it rang as loud as a gunshot. “No.”

Kagome let out a breath that she had not even been aware that she was holding. “So what now? Do you still want to…”

“Yes.”

“Even though I will have to go home?” She asked, eyes wide and vulnerable.

He clenched his jaw defiantly. “I will find a way to keep you.”

She frowned. “But you just said–”

A look of determination affixed itself to his face. “Miko, I will have you any way that I can. I will let you go, but rest assured, I will not be kept from you; not by time,” he brought one of his hands up to cup her face, “not by distance,” then the other, “and not by whatever mad sorcery would seek to pry you from my side. And when I find you again, when we are reunited, then I will make you my mate.” And finally his lips ghosted over hers. “And are you very sure that this is what you wish to do? Be sure of your answer, Kagome, you get one chance to say ‘no’ and this is it.”

Her blood pounded in her ears and she felt time shudder to a halt around them. She took a deep breath in, willing her nerves to steady. At long last her blue eyes rose to his and she whispered “yes” against his mouth.

He captured her lips in a searing kiss, one that left her panting for breath and weak in the knees. Her blood raced and her thoughts swirled as she clung to Sesshomaru’s broad shoulders. She felt as though life had suddenly become a very strong river that was tugging at her, trying to pull her under, and if she were to let go of him, she would be swept away.

There was a frantic energy to the frenzied kisses with which the taiyoukai and the miko devoured each other. There was no space between them, save for the barrier crated by their clothing. The nervous hesitancy that Kagome had expected to feel was nowhere to be found. She was more than happy to give herself up, for just this small moment, to not be the young woman who was looking at a life of bleak emptiness despite what Sesshomaru had said. As his tongue tangled with hers in a timeless dance her eyes fluttered shut. The warm, moist heat of his mouth on hers beckoned her and drew forth a pooling warmth in her lower stomach.

She nipped at his lower lip, imitating his actions from earlier in the garden and startling him briefly before he returned the favor and then tugged at her lip with his teeth, eliciting a small moan from her. His hands reached around her back and began working free the knot of her obi, while he nipped his way across her jaw line and down her throat. The gentle scrape of his fangs against her skin made goosebumps breakout all over her body. As the blue obi came loose, she felt it drop from around her waist to the floor. The kimonos, which she had folded up to accommodate for the height difference between herself and Hoshiko, fell to their full length to pool around her feet.

Kagome slid her own hands beneath Sesshomaru’s haori, pushing it off of his shoulders, desperate to feel his skin beneath her hands. Accidentally she ran her hand over his inured shoulder, only to discover that the wound was all but gone. He gave a rumble of pleasure as her nimble fingers slid over the smooth planes of his muscled back and her blunt, human teeth mimicked his own actions.

His youki flared slightly and her powers responded in kind, sending tingles shooting through her body as Sesshomaru’s hands deftly peeled away the purple kimono, the heavy silk rustling as she lower her arms to let the heavy garment fall away. Once more he drew her body towards him and she was more than happy to follow. Freed from the thickest of her layers, Kagome could now feel the insistent heat from Sesshomaru’s body as it pressed against her own.

Eagerly their hands roamed over each other’s bodies; Kagome’s exploring the dips and ridges of muscle that defined his torso, as Sesshomaru’s were busy undoing the ties that held the lavender kimono closed. As that one too fell to the floor, her drew her close to him, and stepped toward the futon.

His mouth dropped to whisper in her ear, lips brushing sensually against the sensitive lobe. “To you I am forever bound, my power is yours, my strength is yours. Do you accept my bond?”

“I do.” Kagome breathed, and immediately she began to feel a ripple of _something_ starting deep within her.

“Make your own bond then.” He told her, holding her body close. “Just repeat the words I said.”

She breathed deeply, steadying her voice for a minute and then spoke. “To you… to you I am forever bound,” she said, “my power is yours, my strength is yours. Do you accept my bond?”

As he echoed the same to words that she had, just seconds before, the world seemed to blast apart, as if she has fallen into the center of a star. Light and color assaulted her. All of her senses had come alive and she felt as if she was being pulled in every direction at once. Fear clawed its way up her throat until she could hold it in no longer and she called out for Sesshomaru. His name tore from her lips in a helpless sob.

Then suddenly he was with her, and around her, and within her all at once. She breathed in and so did he, his heart beat and so did his. She wrapped herself around him and he folded around her until they were utterly inseparable and there was no discernable edge to where one ended and the other began.

And then the lights began to fade and the sensations that had assailed her dissipated until there was nothing but silence, save for the sound of their ragged breathing. Kagome found that she was so thoroughly sapped of her strength that even opening her eyelids was impossible. She was vaguely aware that she was sprawled on top of Sesshomaru, due to the fact that she could feel his chest rising and falling beneath her, but other than that the world seemed cloudy and hazy.

Slowly Kagome became conscious of something else, something _new_. Where the inner boundaries that had encompassed her ‘self’ had been was where they were no longer. It was as if the space inside of her had grown to encompass a foreign presence. And then she realized what it was. Nestled against her consciousness was a soft, steady energy that was distinctly Sesshomaru.

However, that was not the only new thing that Kagome discovered within herself. In the past her power had felt like a small ball, housed within her shell. Now it felt as though her body was filled to the brim with energy; power saturating her blood and bones, buzzing along beneath her skin.

With a great deal of effort, she pried her eyes open, flinched when the light from the lanterns hit her dilated pupils, and decided that the effort to hold them open was not worth it so she let them drift shut once more.

Kagome dozed, lulled to sleep by the rhythmic beating of Sesshomaru’s heart next to her ear and the warmth that radiated both from his skin and also from his presence within her.

The next time she woke, she found her body tucked securely into Sesshomaru’s chest as they lay on the futon in his room.

_At some point he must have woken up and moved us,_ Kagome mused. Now that the weakness that had assailed her earlier was mostly gone, she was more than ready to see what, exactly, the changes that had been wrought upon her by bond were.

The first thing that she discovered was that her newly increased powers made her incredibly sensitive. When she dropped her shields, just the slightest bit, a storm of information hit her like a freight train and she raised her shields as fast as she could. While Hoshiko’s power had felt overwhelming to Kagome before, it was almost painful to her now, not to mention the fact that she could feel the tremendous youki belonging to both Takeshi and Ren, and the less powerful auras of other mikos and youkai who were roaming through the village and the castle.

Head aching and eyes watering from the pain, she tucked her face into Sesshomaru’s chest, snuggling closer to him. As she moved, his arms tightened around her and a small growl of pleasure vibrated through him. She could also feel, from the presence within her that was Sesshomaru, a sense of satisfaction and she smiled, pain fading rapidly.

_Hah! Maybe I’ll be able to figure him out a bit better now!_ She thought, delighted by the prospect, at least until he scoffed at her.

“What amuses you, miko?” He rumbled against the crown of her head.

She wanted to be offended by his return to the use of her former epithet, however there was a nearly playful edge to his voice when he said it, so she let him slide.

“Nothing, really.” She told him, looking up so that her eyes met his, “Just thinking about some stuff.”

“Oh? And what, pray tell, is this ‘stuff’ which you find so entertaining?” His lips formed a slight smirk and she felt giddy. She had her Sesshomaru with a sense of humor back.

“I’m just happy.” She smiled at him and then rubbed her nose against his, just to see his reaction, just because she could.

His eyebrow rose slightly and she giggled. The subtle changes in his emotions brushed against her mind like a gentle whisper and she reveled in the sensation, enjoying provoking the changes, simply to feel him react.

Sesshomaru seemed perfectly willing to allow her to continue to explore their new bond and for a time he offered no resistance to her random and somewhat senseless playfulness.

After a few minutes, he grew tired of letting her have free reign, so he rolled over, pinning her to the futon below her. “You have had your fun, miko.” He dropped his mouth to touch the delicate column of her neck. “Now it is my turn.”

His tongue and teeth painted a hot, tingling trail over her throat, to the hollow beneath her collarbones and then over the top of one of her breasts, which her sleep-loosened kimono had left partially exposed.

She let out a breathy whimper of anticipation and arched her back, pressing herself further into his touch. He brought both of her hands together over her head so that he could hold them both still with one of his own. His other hand followed the same path that his lips had taken moments before.

He had just brushed his thumb over the rapidly forming peak of her nipple when their quiet world was shattered by the sound of running footsteps and then a frantic pounding on the shoji screen door.

“Lord Sesshomaru, Lady Kagome! Lady Hoshiko says that you must come immediately! It’s urgent!” A frantic voice called from the outside.


	12. Event Horizon

Sesshomaru helped her dress once more in the elaborate kimono. With his assistance she was clothed far more rapidly than the first time she had put on the outfit. Despite the fact that the delicate silk was slightly rumpled from their careless treatment, she looked respectable enough once they were done.

As Sesshomaru pulled on his hakama, she fixed her hair into some semblance of order, running her fingers through it to comb out the tangles. Moments later Sesshomaru came up behind her and pressed one elegant, clawed hand against the small of her back. Despite the many layers of fabric between her skin and his, she could feel the heat from his palm as if she was naked and she shivered.

“We should go to Lady Hoshiko.” He said as he guided her to the door, sliding it open so that they could exit. Along another of the castle’s long, austere hallways they two of them walked, Kagome trusting Sesshomaru’s nose to guide them to wherever it was that they needed to be.

“What do you think is going on?” She asked him, looking up to see his face.

He shook his head. “If this Sesshomaru had to guess, it would be that there has been a change in the urgency of our situation.”

Kagome worried her lip between her teeth. “I really don’t like the sound of that.” She said.

“Neither do I.” He said, and though he outwardly showed no sign of his feelings, she could feel displeasure radiating within him.

It took them a few more minutes to reach a small sitting room with floor cushions dispersed evenly around the space. Upon one of said cushions sat Hoshiko with Takeshi on her right and a black haired woman with brilliant golden eyes on her left. Up close, the combined auras of the three beings before Kagome, stole her breath and made her head buzz, even through her shield.

“Sit.” Commanded Takeshi as he indicated the cushions before him and Kagome and Sesshomaru settled themselves on the ground.

“Sesshomaru, this is your cousin Miyako.” Said Hoshiko, gesturing to the dark-haired woman on her left.

Miyako dipped her head in acknowledgement. She was dressed for travel in a servicable, yet elegant kimono dyed and decorated in the colors of warm, autumn foliage. In the lantern light, Miyako glowed with reds and oranges and golds.

“Greetings cousin; it is a shame that we must meet under such unpleasant circumstances, however I am glad to make your acquaintance all the same.”

“This Sesshomaru is pleased to make your acquaintance as well. And my bondamte, the Lady Kagome.” He replied.

Kagome felt slightly awkward; as the woman’s eyes passed clear over her, dismissing her with barely a glance. She decided that she would take issue with that later, however. More important matters were at hand at that moment.

“For what purpose have you summoned us?” He asked, turning his eyes, which radiated displeasure, on Hoshiko and Takeshi once more.

It was Miyako who answered Sesshomaru’s question in the end. “As I made my way here I noticed an unfamiliar and incredibly malevolent youki moving across the land. It is heading in this direction and when I described it to my father we drew the same conclusion. The youkai that caused my mother to call me home is making its way here.”

Kagome felt cold fear settle in the pit of her stomach. “How long do we have until it arrives?” She asked.

Miyako’s glittering golden eyes turned on her and Kagome had the distinct impression that this was the first time that the woman was actually looking at her.

“You have perhaps a week at most.” She replied, “It is moving quickly, however it has a vast distance to cover and does not appear to be capable of going any faster that its current speed.”

Kagome looked at Hoshiko. “Can you teach me what I need to know in a week?” She asked the pale-haired miko.

Hoshiko’s gaze fixed on her. “Perhaps.” She gave Kagome an exploratory nudge with her aura, that felt more like a shove and without thinking, Kagome pushed back. She felt a sense of satisfaction settling within her as Hoshiko’s piercingly blue eyes widened fractionally. She gave a brief nod of her head. “But if I am to teach you, we must begin right away. There is no time to waste.”

Hoshiko rose to her feet, the grey silk kimono she now wore rustled as she moved. “Come.”

Kagome clambered to her feet, feeling clumsy and inelegant next to the older miko. She followed her out the door and through the corridors once more. The silence between them was oppressive, but Kagome was unsure how to break it. Despite their earlier talk, there was an unapproachable air to Hoshiko that put Kagome ill at ease. After a few more moment of noiseless walking they reached a room that could not be anything other than a dojo.

“In here.” Hoshiko said.

Once the two women entered the room, Hoshiko slid the shoji shut and turned to look at Kagome.

“What can you do?” She asked.

“What?” Kagome replied, slightly confused.

“Your powers, girl. What do you know how to do with them?” Hoshiko asked, exasperation leaking into her voice.

“I can channel them into stuff, like my arrows, and um… I once kind of fried a youkai that attacked me. I think I channeled my power into my skin or something…” She trailed off.

Hoshiko stared at her for a few seconds. “That is all you know how to do?”

“I can also purify stuff and do a little bit of healing, but not much.”

The older miko pinched the bridge of her nose before sighing. “Well, I suppose that’s better than nothing. At least you have a fair bit of power. We will have to make do with that. Try to bring your power forth once more, as you did when you channeled it into your skin.”

Kagome took a breath and reached inside of herself, pulling at her power and drawing it outwards. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to coax it into following her command. A fine sheen of sweat broke out on her skin and then suddenly she felt a fission of power running along her skin, as it had done when she fought the youkai. She opened her eyes and smiled, delightedly at the sight of the pink glow that clung to her whole body, dancing and swirling about her as if she were a living flame.

“Like this?” She asked, looking expectantly at Hoshiko.

“That’s a start.” The miko said, then she took several steps away from Kagome and let her eyes drift shut for a second. A pale light began to emanate from her skin, then suddenly she was engulfed by a blinding flash of light. Once Kagome’s vision cleared again, she gasped.

If she had been a flame, Hoshiko was the sun. She burned fierce and bright, radiating a blinding blue glow like winter light off snow. Kagome felt Hoshiko’s spiritual presence push against her with a force akin to a gale and she stumbled back a step.

“This,” Hoshiko’s voice sounded through the dojo like a booming echo, “is what it will take for you to defeat the youkai in that well.”

Fear crept up Kagome’s spine. _How will I ever do that? I don’t think I have that kind of power!_ She thought frantically.

Hoshiko let go of her power and the light vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

“I… I can’t.” Kagome stuttered, shaking her head.

Hoshiko raised her eyebrows. “Really? Have you suddenly been replaced by another version of yourself?” The jab was pointed and Kagome bristled at it. “You sound nothing like the girl who chastised me earlier. Have you lost your reasons to fight?”

The miko’s words struck a nerve. She reached deep within herself once more and yanked on her power. This time the glow that surrounded her was brighter and slightly larger. She held it for a few seconds before the exertion took her and she was forced to drop her power once more.

“Again.” Said Hoshiko and she began again.

Reach. Pull. Hold. Drop.

Reach. Pull. Hold. Drop.

Over and over again. Kagome lost all sense of time but it seemed as though hours passed.

Longer. Brighter. Stronger. More. Until Kagome dropped to her knees, legs shaking too hard to keep her upright.

She felt like she had just run a marathon. Her body ached. Her _soul_ ached. She wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and sleep for the next year, but Hoshiko’s voice reminded her what she was supposed to be doing.

“Get up. Are you serious or not?”

“I am, I just need a minute.” She panted.

“On your feet. Do you think that the youkai will give you time to rest?” Hoshiko’s words were harsh, but her tone was oddly gentle. “You have no real training and I have very little time to teach you everything that you must do and to help you learn to utilize your full power.”

With great effort Kagome pushed herself to her feet and looked Hoshiko straight in the eye.

“Again.” She said.

By the time Hoshiko deemed the lesson over Kagome felt so weak and drained that she was forced to lean against one of the great wooden pillars that supported the roof.

Just as she was wondering how exactly she would be able to make it back to her room, she felt the welcome sensation of Sesshomaru’s youki washing over her. The door slid open and he strode into the room.

“She is done for the day.” He informed Hoshiko, whose lips quirked slightly upwards.

“Indeed she is. I will have food sent to your room, see that she eats and then let her rest. She will need her energy tomorrow.” The miko replied before turning to Kagome. “You did well.” She said, before sweeping out the dojo’s door and into the hall, leaving Sesshomaru and Kagome alone.

“Hi.” She said to him, weakly. “Hoshiko is insane.”

“Hn.” He replied as he walked over to her and gathered her into his arms. “It is not insanity to train hard to prepare oneself for a coming battle.”

“Pft. I should have known that you would say something like that.” She said, burying her face in his neck and inhaling his scent. Simply being near him made her feel better and less tired.

He gave a rumble of pleasure at her actions. “Cease and desist until we have returned to our room unless you wish to find yourself in a compromising position in the middle of the hallway.” He growled at her and she let her eyes drift shut as she smiled.

The warmth of his body against hers relaxed her and she snuggled against him. As he carried her through the castle she felt herself drifting further and further towards the realm of dreams and by the time they reached Sesshomaru’s room once more, she was sound asleep.

The dream rushed into her head in a flood of darkness and rage.

_“You will die, girl.” A voice echoed through her head and the sound of it made her head hurt as if someone was driving spikes through her brain. She knew immediately that the voice could belong to nothing other than the well youkai._

_“Why?” She asked, even though she already knew the answer. She had stumbled through its nest time and time again, waking it from its slumber and trespassing on its domain. It had no concept of forgiveness, no concept of the idea that she’d had no idea she was even doing anything that could have awakened it._

_The well youkai was a being made of hatred and destruction; it’s presence made her teeth chatter with cold fear. It’s red eyes burned with malevolence and endless evil; it craved ruin, it craved death._

_Her death._

_The only thing it knew was that she was an enemy and needed to be destroyed._

_“Foolish mortal… You dare question me?” The voice boomed through her head and this time the wave of pain that swept in with it was so extreme that she felt as though her mind was being shredded._

_Then suddenly a flare of glowing green light pierced the darkness and she was enfolded in a blanket of warmth, which soothed away the pain. Immediately, she knew that it could be no one other than Sesshomaru. His presence gave her strength and steeled her resolve._

_She reached deep within herself, as she had done with Hoshiko, pulled at her power and blasted it outwards, slamming into the shapeless black mass that was the well youkai, and driving it backwards. The crackle of their opposing auras colliding with each other sounded like gunfire._

_It roared with anger and she could feel it gathering its energy to return the attack, when suddenly the dream vanished._

Her eyes flew open and she found Sesshomaru leaning over her, his concern radiating from him in the back of her mind. At some point he had placed her on the futon once more, and she noted vaguely that his pelt was draped around her. Apparently someone had moved it from her room into his. She stared at him for a few seconds, before launching herself at him and throwing her arms around his neck.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest, nuzzling into her hair as his chest rumbled with a comforting humming growl.

“Sesshomaru… I don’t think I can do this. I thought that maybe I might have a chance earlier, when I was training with Hoshiko… but now… it is so much stronger than I ever imagined. All I did when I hit it with that branch was annoy it. It was like a bee sting to it… I just…” she trailed off.

“Do you remember what I told you that day in the woods?” His voice rumbled in her ear.

“That you would never let anything hurt me again?” She said after a brief hesitation.

“Indeed. I made a vow to you that I have no intention of breaking.” His breath was hot against the skin of her throat as he brushed his nose against the place where the line of her jaw met her ear. “You will not be alone. When the youkai comes, we will meet it together and we will defeat it. There is no other option and there will be no other outcome.”

Her eyelashes fluttered shut as his words sank in. Though the fear of the coming confrontation was still there and still burning strong within her, there was also a solid ball of confidence that had formed within her. Sesshomaru’s presence within her mind radiated a calm assuredness that she could not help but respond to.

“Ok.” She whispered, pressing herself more firmly against him, as if she was trying to eliminate any and all space between them. She was exhausted, physically and mentally, yet she was afraid to drift off again, out of fear that the well youkai would find her once more.

Sesshomaru laid back on the futon, cradling her to him. His hand crept up to run gently through her hair. “Sleep, miko.” He told her and after a few nervous, tense moments, she burrowed against him and did as he commanded.

This time her dreams were quiet and peaceful.

When Kagome woke once more she noticed that it was still dark out and that the lanterns within the room had completely burnt out. She lay, mostly on top of Sesshomaru, who had drifted into sleep at some point after her and her lay sill as stone, except for the steady rise and fall of his chest.

He was dressed in a plain, white sleeping yukata and she noted that it was the first time that she had ever seen him in any kind of casual clothing. She was so used to seeing him dressed in either his armor or the fine clothing that he wore beneath it, that seeing him like this was strange. He was still unnaturally handsome and he somehow managed to make even the simple garment look elegant.

Kagome rolled her eyes. _Trust me to find a guy who’s way prettier than I am,_ she thought.

She found herself fascinated by the hollow of his throat; the perfect dip between his collarbones called to her and she had a sudden mental image of herself licking and nibbling her way across it. Seeing no reason _not_ to, she pushed herself up slightly, sliding her body along his and pressed her lips gently to that spot.

The second that she did so, his burning, golden eyes snapped open and he rolled them over, pinning her beneath him. A deep growl rumbled through him making her shiver with anticipation.

He dropped his mouth to her neck and scraped his fangs lightly across the column of her throat before he ran his tongue over the light red marks he had left, soothing away the sting. She whimpered as little shocks of pleasure ran through her.

“Sesshomaru…” She whispered.

He lifted his mouth from her neck and his lips came crashing down on hers in a bruising kiss that stole her breath and drove every though from her head and replaced them with a burning haze of desire. The well youkai seemed far away, Hoshiko and her merciless training were but a distant memory, and her concerns about her family were momentarily washed away. There was no room in her head for anything except Sesshomaru.

She could feel the echoes of his own desire ringing through her as his touch flicked against the seam of her lips, demanding entrance. She arched her back up, pressing her body against his and moaned into the kiss. His tongue swept into her mouth, tangling with her own, exploring every crevice, tasting and exploring her.

He ground his hips into hers and she could feel the hardened length of him rubbing insistently against her center. She gasped and he growled. This was uncharted territory for Kagome; never had she been in a situation like this before. She had touched herself before, of course; she didn’t know any modern woman who _hadn’t_ at one point or another, but the feeling of the intimate contact with another being… there was no comparison, and they were both still fully clothed. She shivered, wondering what it would feel like without the layers of fabric in the way.

She pulled her lips away from his, panting and wide eyed. “We’re wearing too much clothing.” She told him, reaching up to unknot the cloth belt holding his yukata closed. She felt both his amusement and agreement as her reached down and unceremoniously sliced through the ties that held all three layers of her kimono shut.

“Sesshomaru!” She gasped, horrified.

“Some one will fix them later.” He growled at her as he pulled each of her layers open, being slightly more careful with the delicate fabric of the actual garments.

Kagome finally worked the knot of his belt open and slid her hands beneath the fabric to run over his bare skin. Touching him was like touching steel covered in the finest of silk. And she reveled in the heat coming off of him. He shrugged the yukata off of his shoulders before unwrapping her final kimono, baring her body to his heated gaze.

She felt a flush of embarrassment spreading from her cheeks down to her chest and she felt the urge to try to cover herself, but Sesshomaru pushed her hands away.

“Do not.” He commanded, dipping his mouth to the curve where her neck met her shoulder. He bit down gently on the spot and swirled his tongue over the skin there. She felt a rush of heat pool deep in her belly and gave a whimper of pleasure. His right hand drifted down to cup her bare breast and his thumb flicked over her rapidly hardening nipple. And her whimper turned into a small gasping cry of need.

He sat back and his left hand came up to palm her other breast. He watched her with his brilliant golden eyes as her pink nipples hardened and tightened into tiny peaks and her brain short-circuited. Kagome reached out and dragged his face down to her own and locked her lips with his in a hot, drugging kiss. His scent, his taste, his touch… his left hand roved over her chest, down her ribs, over the curve of her hip; his claws scraped gently against her skin and little trails of tingling heat erupted in their wake.

She raked her own blunt, human nails down the skin of his back, reveling in the grumble of pleasure that he let out. He pulled his hips away from hers to blaze a trail down her jaw and neck to her chest. He lavished her breasts with attention; teeth and tongue driving her insane as she tangled her hands in the seemingly endless cascade of his silvery white hair.

Sesshomaru nuzzled his nose into the valley between her breasts placing a kiss right at the center of the bottom of her ribcage.

His lips trailed lower, reaching her stomach and she went to arch her body into his touch… when suddenly her power flickered slightly, in response to her emotions, and she felt as though she had torn something inside of her. Kagome gave a grimace of pain and Sesshomaru lifted his head to look at her.

“What’s wrong?” He asked her, the heat in his eyes cooling.

She shook her head. “Nothing, keep going.” She said, but he sat back, the mood broken.

“Tell me.” He commanded.

“My powers… they flared a little and it hurt. I’m fine though.” She said, looking away from him, an empty, disappointed feeling settling within her chest. So close; they had been _so_ close to finally crossing over that last barrier to finally erasing the final line that still lay between them, and once again they had been unable to. And worse still, this time it was because of her. Of course, she couldn’t help the fact that her powers had hurt her, but she wished that she could have hidden that from him.

_I guess that’s the downside to being able to feel each other so closely,_ she thought. It was almost ironic that it was their connection that was now keeping them from becoming further connected.

Kagome closed her eyes and balled her hands into fists. She heard Sesshomaru sigh and then felt him lie down beside her and gather her to him. For a few seconds his body was tense, she could feel his emotions within her and he was coiled like a tightly wound spring. Then he relaxed and his body softened slightly next to hers.

“There will be time enough for us when this fight is done.” He told her in a neutral voice.

She nodded in agreement, but in the depths of her mind, she wondered if he was actually right or if by the time they had defeated the well youkai that the clock would have run out for her and that she would be ripped from him, or worse still, that one or both of them would perish in the fight and the other one would be left alone and bereft without ever truly knowing what it felt like to _really_ be one with him.

“Miko…” he growled in her ear, “Whatever you are thinking of, cease and desist immediately. We have had this discussion before and I do not like repeating myself.”

She did her best to drive the thoughts from her head, but she could not shake the unease from her soul, no matter how she tried.


	13. The Great Destroyer

Hoshiko pushed the ball of power towards Kagome, who caught it, built upon it, and pushed it back. The two women repeated the process over and over until the energy filling the room was so great that the rice-paper screens that made up the walls vibrated with it.

“Now pull it into yourself.” Hoshiko ordered and Kagome followed her command, drawing the ball into herself, allowing it to fill her, to stretch her, until she felt as though it was pushing all of her organs into places that they did not belong, replacing the very air in her lungs and the blood in her veins. Still, she did not stop until every last wisp of the power had been pulled deep within her body.

“Shatter that totem.” The older miko pointed to a training totem, a wooden figure infused with youki, against which Kagome had been testing and trying out her powers. With a grunt of effort, she channeled all of her power into her palms and blasted it outwards in a powerful stream that hit the totem and obliterated it.

Panting slightly, Kagome braced her hands on her knees and looked towards Hoshiko, who was smiling at her with something akin to pride.

“Well done, girl. Now, as you doubtless can feel, the bond between you and Sesshomaru generates plenty of energy, all you have to do is take it in and bend it to your will as I have been training you to do.” Hoshiko said. “I have taught you everything I can and you are as ready as I can make you; all that is left to do now is pray that it is enough.”

Kagome looked up and met the older miko’s gaze. Approval simmered behind her eyes and despite the discomfort that Kagome was feeling, she could not help the triumphant smile that crawled across her face.

The hours upon hours of reiki practice as well as the time spent honing her skills as an archer had left her tired, yet oddly invigorated. For the first time she felt certain that she stood a fighting chance against the well youkai.

She inclined her head slightly. “Thank you for training me. I know that you wished to minimize your involvement in this and I do appreciate the fact that you helped me anyway.” Kagome began to turn away, eager to find somewhere to sit for a little while, but Hoshiko’s voice stopped her.

“You do not really believe,” her voice rang out, “that I would really allow you and my nephew to fight this battle on my doorstep without stepping in to aid you at all?”

Kagome smiled softly at her. “Sesshomaru and I discussed this.” She said, “We’re not going to be fighting on your doorstep; there are too many civilians here who could be hurt. We’re leaving tonight to go meet the youkai before it gets any closer.”

Hoshiko’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Yeah. Much to Sesshomaru’s chagrin, Ren will be coming with us but the three of us talked yesterday and we decided that it just made more sense. You were right; you have fought your battle before, we won’t force you to fight this one too.”

That had not been an easy conversation. Ren had come to them, battling down his pride and desire to show his cousin up with the request that they bring him along when they fought the youkai.

_“My skills are wasted here and while I may never rise to the same legendary status as my mother did, perhaps I can at least leave my mark on history if I aid you now.”_

_“Absolutely not.” Sesshomaru had said, shutting him down cold._

_Kagome glowered at him. “Oh give it a rest. We need all the help we can get, Sesshomaru. If he wants to come, let him come.”_

_“Just a few days ago he was trying his hardest to tear you from my side, this Sesshomaru will not tolerate the–”_

_“Oh my god. Ren, you were just doing that to pick a fight, weren’t you?”_

_Ren, surprised, looked up and inclined his head. “Well… that is not exactly how I would have phrased it, however you are not incorrect.”_

_“So if he promises to behave and not to try anything funny, can you two get along for, oh, I don’t know… the sake of the world?” Kagome snapped._

_Both men stared at her for a long time, with matching nonplused expressions, before shrugging noncommittally._

_“Good. Now stop acting like children.” She said before stalking off down the corridor._

Kagome shifted her weight from foot to foot underneath Hoshiko’s piercing stare. Then the older miko dropped her gaze and shook her head with a small smile.

“I underestimated you. Despite everything you said and how hard you have been working, I still managed to underestimate you. Perhaps old age is finally getting to me.” Hoshiko stepped towards Kagome, the rough silk of her dark blue kimono rustling softly. She touched Kagome’s cheek softly. “You are truly an extraordinary girl, Kagome. There are very few people who are actually as selfless as you proclaimed yourself to be.” Her blue eyes grew sad. “I only wish that I would have more time to get to know you. If you leave tonight, I fear that it shall very likely be the last time we see one another.”

Kagome smiled at Hoshiko. “I think… I think we both misjudged each other… you’re not nearly as cold as I thought you were. I’m sorry too. Thank you for everything.”

Their eyes remained locked for a few more seconds, and then Hoshiko nodded ever so slightly. “Takeshi and I will see you off tonight.” She said, before turning away. “Go rest while you can.”

Kagome knew a dismissal when she head one and she quietly let herself out of the dojo, forcing herself to ignore the sensation feeling of regret that was trying to latch itself onto her. She did not have time for that right then.

As she padded her way along the hallway, intent on seeking out a servant so that she could take one last bath before they left that night, she explored her power, which had once more been increased.

The last exercise that she had been performing with Hoshiko had allowed the other miko to give Kagome yet another boost to her power in hopes that she might be able to use the extra energy in the coming fight. There was little doubt in her mind that she would need every last drop of that power.

She was so engrossed in her own musings that, despite her new awareness of the world, she nearly ran into Miyako. To her credit, Miyako’s reki was shielded and she was standing, unmoving in Kagome’s path.

“Huh– oh! Sorry.” Kagome stammered before moving to walk around the sorceress.

However, before Kagome could take another step, Miyako’s delicate, white hand shot out and grasped her shoulder in a startlingly firm hold. “I wish to speak to you.” The older woman stated plainly.

Annoyance trickled through Kagome. She wanted nothing more than to bathe, eat something, and mentally prepare herself for the events to come. She did _not_ want to spend her time talking to someone who had made it very clear that she thought Kagome well below her.

“Sorry,” Kagome said once more, “I’m busy.”

Miyako huffed softly. “You are angry with me, not busy.”

The miko shrugged, and pulled her shoulder out of Miyako’s grasp. “Does it really matter what I am? I _don’t_ wish to speak to you.” She replied, tossing the sorceress’s words back at her. Kagome was well aware that she sounded both petty and petulant, exactly as childish as she had accused Sesshomaru and Ren of being, but Miyako’s blatant dismissal every time that she had encountered her before set Kagome’s teeth on edge. She knew people like her; they did not change their tune unless they felt that they had something to gain from doing so. Kagome brushed past the sorceress and continued on her way down the hall. “If that’s all, then I’ll just be-”

“I suppose I deserved that.” Miyako’s slightly amused, mostly contrite voice once more halted Kagome. “I have been very rude to you.”

Kagome turned to look at Miyako, one eyebrow raised in surprise. The older woman met her eyes and shrugged elegantly. “I must admit, my rudeness was not without cause, but that does not excuse it.”

“And what did I do to merit your rudeness?” Kagome asked, searching Miyako’s simmering, golden eyes for answers. The woman’s face remained inscrutable, but her attitude held none of the cold dismissal that Kagome had become used to seeing.

“I am envious of you. It is not who _you_ are _,_ per-say that caused my discourteousness, but it is _what_ you are that set me off.” Miyako shook her head and her eyes drifted briefly shut. “I was supposed to be the next warrior miko, you know. If the youkai returned, it was supposed to be _me_ that my mother trained to fight it. The child of a taiyoukai and a miko of her caliber… I should have been a weapon the likes of which had never been seen before. Instead I am a sorceress who could not kill a gnat with her power.” Her eyes snapped up to meet Kagome’s. “Do you understand now?”

A wave of sympathy swept through Kagome. She knew all too well what it felt like to watch someone else walk into her life and take everything that she wanted, with no effort.

However, her frown didn’t change as she replied, “You still didn’t need to be such a jerk about it. I’ve been jealous plenty of times and I don’t think I’ve ever treated anyone like that.”

Another elegant shrug accompanied Miyako’s response. “I do not know what my family has told you of me, but I am not the most… hm…” she paused, tapping one elegant finger to her lips as she thought, “understanding individual when I do not get my way. That does not mean that I am above attempting to set matters right, however.”

Kagome fidgeted uncomfortably; she did not know what to say to that, and a muscle not was quickly beginning to form in her shoulder.

Suddenly Miyako strode forwards, catching Kagome’s elbow with her hand. “Come; let me show you the family bathhouse.”

The abrupt contact and change in topic of conversation threw Kagome for a loop. “Come again?” She said, stumbling to keep up with the sorceress’s longer stride.

“We have much more to talk about, but I know my mother well, and I know that you must be simply dying for a soak after her ‘lesson’.” She said with a short laugh and a small, conspiratorial grin at Kagome, who was incapable of repressing her own answering smile.

“She certainly is… thorough.”

Miyako gave a chuckled wryly. “When she discovered that I couldn’t use my powers in combat, she took it upon herself to ensure that I was as well prepared to defend myself as was possible. For three months I did nothing but train with her.”

They passed through a set of doors and into the living area of the castle once again.

“What happened after those three months?” Kagome asked, genuinely curious.

Miyako’s cheeks pinked slightly. “I threw a tantrum and refused to set foot in the dojo ever again.”

“Oh that must have gone over well with her.”

A peal of laughter left the sorceress. “It went about as well as you can expect. If my father hadn’t stepped in, I fear that Ren might have become an only child. My mother does not like to be defied, but my father told her that she was being far too hard on me, after all, I was only eighty four at the time.”

They exited the building through one final set of doors and walked across a small courtyard to a large wooden building that had steam rising from several vents in the roof.

The building was almost twice the size of the well shrine at Kagome’s house and the second that they stepped inside, tendrils of steam enveloped the bodies of the two women. There was little light within the bathhouse, save for that was given off by the clusters of candles set at regular intervals around the perimeter of the room. The majority of the space was taken up by a natural hot spring that was large enough to accommodate perhaps fifteen people comfortably. A wooden floor had been added to the building around the spring, giving bathers something clean to leave their clothes on while they soaked.

“Wow,” Kagome breathed, “This is incredible!”

“It is rather nice, isn’t it?” Said Miyako, who had already begun the lengthy process of removing all of her many layers of clothing. Kagome fallowed her example and divested herself of her sweaty garments.

When she lowered herself into the spring, an immediate sigh of pleasure escaped from her lips. A smooth rock formation provided Kagome with a seat that was just the right height to keep her body fully submerged, but her head above the surface of the water.

A few moments later, Miyako joined her in the water and they sat in comfortable silence for a while.

“So,” Kagome began tentatively, “you wanted to continue our conversation?”

Miyako, who had been leaning back against the edge of the spring, with her eyes closed, opened them and turned her head to look in Kagome’s direction. “I did.”

“Well?” Said Kagome, after a few seconds of silence.

“I’m trying to think how to phrase this, because it’s a complicated thing that I’m going to try to explain.” The sorceress sighed and sat up straight so that she could properly look at her companion’s face. “My mother told me of how you came to be here; about the well that allowed you to travel to a time that was not your own and about the youkai and how he is connected to your situation. When you cam through that well before, you were able to simply fall from one end of a tunnel- for lack of a better word- to another, because there was no other way that you could go.

“What happened though, was that all of that travel back and forth caused ripples though the space between time, and those ripples woke up the youkai who was hidden there, sleeping off the injuries that my parents inflicted upon it. When it woke fully, it went on a rampage, tearing through the tunnel and leaving chaos in its wake.” Miyako paused momentarily. “Is this making sense so far?”

When Kagome nodded, she continued. “What then began to happen, was that things started to slide from their proper places in time and space into other places where they didn’t belong. The youkai helped this along by grabbing hold of any other youkai that it encountered and flinging them through time as well, feeding off the chaos and growing ever stronger.”

“So that’s why there were suddenly youkai everywhere in my time, even though I have almost never seen any of them there before.”

The sorceress inclined her head. “Exactly. Now, when you came though the well this time, the straight tunnel that had once existed had been all but obliterated. So you fell through the mess of what was left behind and came out here and now.”

Something downed on Kagome as Miyako’s words faded away. “If the tunnel is gone, does that mean that I can’t go back through the well to my home?”

“It does. But-” She held up a finger preventing Kagome’s exclamation of horror and grief, “the well is not the only way for you to get home.”

Relief suffused Kagome’s being. “It isn’t?” Combined with the heat of the water, the sudden spike of adrenaline left her feeling dizzy and weak. When Miyako had uttered those words that she had so feared to hear, Kagome had felt as though she were on the verge of a nervous collapse.

With a shake of her head, Miyako continued. “When you defeat the youkai, I am going to close all of the wounds in time, put the pieces back together as best as I can. Before I do that though, I will send you back through to your proper time, that is, if you still wish to go, even knowing what it is that you stand to lose.”

Miserably, Kagome nodded. “I’m going to lose everything,” she said in a voice that was hardly more than a whisper, “but I _promised my mother_ that I would return. I… I can’t break that promise.” A tear, somehow hotter even than the water of the spring, rolled down her cheek.

Miyako reached out and placed her hand on Kagome’s shoulder. Her amber eyes were sad, but they were full of empathy. “We all do what we have to for our families.”

With a great, shuddering sigh Kagome pulled herself together. She had dwelled long enough on the subject of her departure; there was no reason to torture herself any more at the present.

Miyako reached over the edge of the spring and grabbed a wedge of the fragrantly scented soap that Kagome had been bathing with over the last week, and handed it to her before grabbing a second wedge for herself. “Here, I’ll wash your back if you’ll wash mine.” She said as she handed Kagome a clean white washrag.

It had been a very long time since anyone had washed her back, Kagome thought idly, the last person to do so had been Sango and that had been over five years ago. She wondered momentarily why Miyako was offering to do something that personal for her but then it hit Kagome that this was the woman’s way of acknowledging her as part of her pack. The unexpected gesture made Kagome smile. “Sure.” She said.

Half an hour later, the two women were seated in Miyako’s room, inside the palace once more. Servants had come and gone, bringing them clean clothing and hot, spiced tea that came from the continent. Miyako’s room was the antithesis of every other room in the palace. Every inch of wall-space was covered in intricate, painted scrolls, the furniture was highly ornate, carved by master craftsmen who had put tremendous detail into every inch of their work, and bright, warm silks in reds, golds, and mauves covered every one of the multitude of cushions that were strewn about the room. The sorceress reclined gracefully against a pile of them as she combed out her long, black hair and Kagome traced her finger along the dragonfly pattern that covered the red silk of the pillow upon which she sat.

“I have decided,” Miyako said suddenly, pausing in mid stroke, “that I will be accompanying you when you leave tomorrow.”

Kagome looked up suddenly, shocked. “What?”

Miyako resumed her hair combing. “You will need me to return you to your time when the battle is finished, therefore it makes much more sense for me to be there with you, so that when the time comes, you are not forced to journey back here, needlessly wasting more time.”

“But you can’t fight!” Kagome blurted.

The sorceress gave a little laugh and her lips quirked upwards at the corners in a small grin. “True, but I can defend myself, and those around me very well. You will need my protection, I think.”

Mouth hanging slightly open, Kagome tried to think of a response. When none came to mind, she settled on responding with a stunned, “Thank you?”

A clucking noise of disapproval came from Miyako’s direction. “You did not think that I would offer to help you more than just with getting you home?”

“Well…” the younger woman flushed.

“Tsk. You and my cousin are pack. And technically Sesshomaru is my alpha, not my father, any longer. I am duty bound to assist you however I can.” She set aside her comb and began to gather her hair back in a long dark mass, which she tied off near the bottom, with a red silk ribbon. “And I have decided that I rather like you. My initial impression was obviously wrong.”

Once more, Kagome found herself speechless, the only word that she seemed to be capable of uttering slipped through her lips completely unintentionally. “Huh.”

That brought a full laugh out of Miyako.

Kagome shook her head and looked away from the sorceress, fixing her eyes instead on a scroll somewhere to her left, that depicted a mountain rising amongst clouds.

“You know, I didn’t actually think that anyone in your family was capable of saying sorry until last night… it’s a rather shocking experience learning that you are all aware that you sometimes mess up…” She shook her head and looked down at her lap, “Any chance that you could try to teach some of that humility to my… I mean, Sesshomaru?”

Miyako laughed again. “I do not think that humility is something _he_ will ever learn.”

~

They left early the next morning. Hoshiko, Takeshi, and the greater part of Yasumidokoro’s population had turned out to send them off.

The older miko had embraced her children fiercely and warned them that if they did not come back, she would come after them, a threat which made both hanyou blanch slightly. They bowed low to their parents and then climbed onto their mounts; a pair of the golden bird youkai that Kagome had first seen when Ren had come to intercept them. A third youkai waited patiently for Kagome and Sesshomaru.

After a final farewell to her children, Hoshiko turned to her nephew and his bondmate.

“You do us all a great service and you carry a burden far heavier than most will ever understand. Fight hard and be well.” Then she embraced them in turn as well.

Hours later, Kagome sat, cradled in Sesshomaru’s arms on the back of one of the giant golden bird youkai. The wind rushed by so fast and so cold that she could do little other than close her eyes and burrow down in the warmth of Sesshomaru’s pelt.

They were getting closer now to the well youkai. She could feel its presence in the distance, like a cancer upon the land. It was a hungry, angry, vacuous darkness that sucked all the light from the world and make her skin crawl.

Despite all her training, the nearer they drew to it, the more nauseous and frightened Kagome became.

“You should not worry so, miko.” Sesshomaru’s voice was a baritone rumble that disrupted her anxious rumination.

“I can’t really help it you know.” She said with a grumble, “No matter what happens here everything is going to change and even if we survive…”

“We will survive and I told you; no matter what transpires, I will not allow you to be ripped from me for the rest of time.” His calm, blasé manner grated at her nerves, even though she could feel seething discontent coming from him through their bond.

“It might not be that simple!” Kagome snapped.

Sesshomaru tightened his hold on her. “Is this really how you wish to spend this time? Fighting over things that we do not even know will come to pass?”

 Sighing heavily, she slumped in his arms. “No, you’re right. I’m just… not handing my fear well.”

A pulse of discontent from his side of the bond told her that underneath his calm exterior, Sesshomaru wasn’t either.

On and on the youkai flew, and morning turned to midday, and then began to fade slowly into afternoon. The sun had just began to set in the sky when they caught their first glimpse of the Well Youkai.

Ren spotted it first. “Look! To the north!” He called, pointing towards the distant, rolling hills.

Kagome swore.

The youkai was massive. Far larger now than it has been when Kagome threw the branch at it, driving it back into the well.

Made of shadows that rolled like smoke, it was the size of a small village and it flowed over the land like oil, staining and corrupting everything in its wake.

As the bird youkai drew nearer to the creature, Kagome realized that her initial assumption about the well youkai’s size had been partially incorrect. While it had indeed grown larger, much of it’s new mass was made up by a small army of the black, scaled youkai that had attacked their party weeks before. They flapped along in the wake their leader like a flock of bats.

Sensing them, like a shark catching the scent of blood in water, the youkai paused and looked up. Malevolent eyes that burned like flames fixed on the trio of golden birds high above, and a cascade of youki raced out to meet them, a stream of scaled youkai not far behind.

“Dive!” Kagome called, at the same time that she felt Miyako throwing a barrier around them.

They dove, streaking towards the ground as the youkai swarmed above them. The drop was so fast and forceful, that Kagome thought she might be sicks, but at the last minute, the birds evened out, swooping just out of reach of the Well Youkai below.

Ren said something that was lost on Kagome’s ears in the rushing of the wind, but she felt Sesshomaru nod, before they broke formation. Ren and Miyako heading left, while Sesshomaru and Kagome kept on straight.

“Hold onto me, Kagome, we are going to jump down.” He said, bending close enough that he could speak directly into her ear. She turned in his lap, kneeling on the back of the bird and staring into his eyes. He hesitated and then pressed a swift kiss against her lips. Affection flared through the bond, and Kagome, cold with fear, wrapped her soul in his warm affection, her arms around his neck, and readied herself for the fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the last chapter I wrote back when this was still updating. There are two more chapters (and possibly an epilogue) after this but they still need to be written. Please read and review, I love hearing from you guys. I will get to work writing the end of this story and hopefully it will be done soon. 
> 
> Love,  
> RM Avalon


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